01 December 2023 , 22:00
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Rishi Sunak said he's been playing Christmas songs for more than two weeks - and said Fairytale of New York is a key track on his playlist.
Asked if he was a fan of the Pogues following the death of frontman Shane MacGowan, the PM spoke about his love of festive music. He told reporters on the flight to Dubai for the COP28 climate summit: "Well, I am a fan of Christmas music in general, which is the main song obviously of his I know.
"I am a massive fan of Christmas music... someone outed me on that when I was Chancellor because they accidentally walked in on me singing Michael Buble in advance of some interview, I remember.
"So I had the Christmas music on about two weeks ago, and everyone shouted at me, and then I've done it in private. Now it's public, now I can do that in public."
He said he has already signed thousands of Christmas cards, and has festive music playing as he does so. On top of that, a Christmas market was held in Downing Street on Friday.
Out of touch Rishi Sunak doesn't regularly read papers or online news sites
The PM said: "So I sign all these cards and I do it in the night, and basically that is my time, I put the Christmas music on and I just sit there and sign away, and I've been doing that for about 10 days already."
Asked how many cards he signs each year, he said the number runs into the thousands and continued: "I called my mum last year when I did it and I said, 'Thank God you named me a name that only has five letters in it.'
"If it was a 10-letter thing this would probably have taken twice as long. So lots of Christmas music, including his (Mr MacGowan's), over the past. It's on every Christmas playlist, is that song, so great loss, great loss."
Mr MacGowan died in the early hours of Thursday aged 65. His wife Victoria Mary Clarke said he will "always be the light that I hold before me".
The 57-year-old posted a black-and-white picture of the singer from his younger years as he held a glass and a cigarette. Alongside it, she said: "I don’t know how to say this so I am just going to say it. Shane who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the start and end of everything that I hold dear has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese."
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