Ben Shephard refused to stand down on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, as his interview with Rishi Sunak took a fiery turn.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer joined Ben and Susanna Reid on the show to discuss his proposed budget for the UK, following the statement he made in parliament on Wednesday.
Sunak outlined what the UK government will spend on health, education, transport and other public services next year, with foreign aid getting cut and an estimated 1.3million public sector workers seeing their pay frozen for the coming months.
Challenging the Chancellor on the show, Ben read out a tweet he had penned, which read: “You have not been forgotten. We will not leave you behind. And we are all in this together.”
The Chancellor of the Exchequer joined Ben and Susanna Reid on the show
Holding him to account for the tweet, Ben said: “You went on to list all the business support schemes there were for various people in various forms of employment. Unfortunately, that’s not true, is it?”
Digging for answers, Ben continued: “Because there are 2.9million people, nearly 9% of the workforce, that are currently excluded or forgotten about from all of these schemes.
“For some reason or another, they cannot get access from some of these schemes you’ve put in place.
Ben quizzed Rishi Sunak on his economic plans on today’s show
“What do you say to these members of the excluded, the self-employed people that can’t get access or the people that run their own small limited businesses that for the last eight or nine months have received not a penny in support from the government.”
Sunak responded by correcting Ben’s use of figures, suggesting he had been incorrect in his claims.
He said: “So, I don’t think that three million number is right, and you’ve used it.
“That number includes one and a half million people who do not qualify for the self-support scheme because they are not majority self-employed.”
When the interview drew to a close, Ben was disappointed he didn’t get the chance to ask Rishi more questions, as the clock was against him.
He said: “It’s very frustrating because of course we only have a certain amount of time with ministers.”
Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays at 6am on ITV.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
