06 February 2024 , 15:07
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Piers Morgan bit back at old foe Alastair Campbell after he dug Prime Minister Rishi Sunak out for their 'vile' Rwanda bet.
The under-pressure PM shook on the wager after being challenged by Piers over his crisis-hit plan to ship some asylum seekers to the African country. The Tory pledge, beset by legal challenges, had seen Mr Sunak recently refuse to guarantee that flights would take off before Britain goes to the polls this year.
The politician was branded "out of touch" for agreeing to a £1,000 bet on whether deportation flights will get going before the election on TalkTV after he agreed to the interview. Former No 10 spin doctor Campbell waded in and the pair got into a spat on social media following the bet.
Piers placed the bet with the PM over his stalled plans (PA)He grumbled: "Most of the audience at my book event tonight were unaware of the Sunak Rwanda bet. When I described the exchange, and his taking the bet and the bait of @piersmorgan there were literally sharp intakes of breath and reactions of disgust in the audience. He is so so bad at this."
Piers, who previously accusing the controversial ex-press secretary of trying to steal his job, wasn't impressed and swiftly responded: "How big was their gasp when they remembered you spun us into an illegal war that cost 1 million lives?" Campbell still had more to say on the matter, and returned later to post again - but didn't directly respond to the hosts' taunt.
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Tony Blair's former spokesperson said: "Instead of playing along with silly stunts on a show that would always be about the presenter, and then doing TMS can’t he just DO. THE. EFFING. JOB? BE. THE. PRIME MINISTER. His media outings are beyond embarrassing."
Alistair Campbell added his voice to those criticising the interview (Press Association)Calling Campbell out, the former Good Morning Britain presenter quoted tweeted him and told his followers: "REMINDER: I had 56 one-on-one meetings at No10 with Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister, all of them arranged by Campbell. Yes, FIFTY SIX." The programme's account then confirmed Piers will 'reveal the truth' about the bet at 8pm tonight.
The TalkTV host told the Prime Minister: “I'll bet you £1,000 pounds to a refugee charity, you don't get anybody on those planes before the election. Will you take that bet?” Mr Sunak appeared to accept the bet by shaking hands, telling him: “Well, I want to get the people on the planes, right? Of course, I want to get the people on the plane… Right? I am working incredibly hard to get the people on the planes.”
The exchange triggered outrage, with Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth saying: “Not a lot of people facing rising mortgages, bills and food prices are casually dropping £1,000 bets. It just shows that Rishi Sunak is totally out of touch with working people.”
Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock tweeted: "Probably the least Prime Ministerial thing I've seen in 9 years in Parliament. Deeply distasteful. A Prime Minister splashing his cash around like it's monopoly money - betting on a policy that he has lost control over."