What time is the Rishi Sunak ITV interview? How to watch

12 June 2024 , 03:30

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Rishi Sunak's interview with ITV Tonight has sparked controversy already (Image: Grab)

Rishi Sunak's new ITV interview is one that many might have heard about already - but probably not for the reasons he was hoping.

The Tory Prime Minister sparked fury from veterans, the public and members of his own party when he left the D-Day commemorations early on Thursday to take part in the pre-recorded interview with Paul Brand. Mr Brand said the ITV Tonight programme was interviewing all the party leaders and had been working to secure a date with Mr Sunak for some time. "Today was the slot they offered us," he said on Thursday. "We don't know why."

'The Leader Interviews - Rishi Sunak' will be aired on ITV1 at 7pm on Wednesday.

In a clip released in advance of the interview, Rishi Sunak denied he was prepared to lie in order to stay in power after being pressed on the Tories' debunked claims of a £2,000 Labour tax rise. He also claimed that Treasury officials had come up with the figure despite a letter from a top civil servant denying this, and told Paul Brand: "No. The analysis and the working is done by Treasury officials."

In a speech earlier this week, the Prime Minister said he hopes veterans can "find it in their hearts" to forgive him for skipping a memorial service in Normandy which commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day. US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron were both pictured at the historic event on Thursday - but Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron was sent to represent Britain instead of the Prime Minister. Labour leader Keir Starmer was also present at the event, and said it was "very important" to him that he stayed for the whole day.

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Sunak's decision to snub the service and do the ITV interview instead also sparked a meltdown in the already-beleaguered Conservative ranks, with one of his own ministers telling the Mirror of the party's electoral chances: "It’s over". In the seven-way BBC election debate on Friday, Penny Mordaunt also described his absence as "completely wrong" and said he had apologised.

Tonight will also see Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer face the cameras live on Sky News. In the new show, named The Battle for Number 10, the two leaders will be interviewed separately by host Beth Rigby before taking questions from the audience. It'll be broadcast live from the studio in Grimsby at 7.30pm.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas