12 April 2023 , 08:39
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Defiant Kwasi Kwarteng has claimed he attended an interview for a £10,000-a-day job because he has a policy of "always talking to people" to hear their stories.
The former Chancellor - who was sacked after his mini-budget tanked the economy - was duped by campaign group Led By Donkeys in a sting last month.
He admitted a video was "mildly embarrassing" but maintained he'd done nothing wrong and said he hasn't ruled out a future return to the cabinet.
A video clip released showed him suggest he might be able to introduce officials from a fake South Korean company to Boris Johnson, and said he would be willing to fly around the world for meetings.
Mr Kwarteng told GB News: "I always have a policy, I did as a minister, of always talking to people and I'm always interested in people's stories.
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Mr Kwarteng admitted that the sting was 'mildly embarrassing; (Led by Donkeys)"Yes I probably was a bit naive and what happened was they suddenly said they said we've got this advisory opportunity yada yada yada and they can pay me this much.
"I said that sounds interesting and we can talk about it and then they said 'oh that's your going rate' which is a completely dishonest thing.
"In a court of law that's entrapment."
He said he and other Tory MPs had been "sucked into this thing", but continued: "Nothing was wrong, we talk to people as we talk to other people... They were there to embarrass us.
"It was mildly embarrassing."
But he stressed he hadn't taken any payments and hadn't broken any rules, stating: "If someone says they're going to give you £10,000 a day you find out what's the offer... What would have been wrong was if I'd signed up to something and not declared it, that's breaking transparency."
And he said: "There's a big distinction between people who are breaking the rules, and people who are foolishly being caught by stings."
Mr Kwarteng said he wouldn't rule out a return to the cabinet in the future (GB News)Asked if he would rule out a return to the cabinet, he said: "I haven't ruled out anything, it's up to the Prime Minister at the time."
And Mr Kwarteng said he would like to get back to the top table, saying: "Of course, it was a great privilege to be Business Secretary and then Chancellor.
"I was removed by the Prime Minister, I don't think it was a plot, that was the Prime Minister's prerogative."
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Reflecting on his brief time in the Treasury he said: "That didn't go well... I think we tried to do too much too quickly, but the fundamental question hasn't been answered - how do you get growth into the economy?"
But he said he still feels hard done by following his sacking, stating: That was what she (Liz Truss) chose to do.
"Looking back and I said it at the time I thought it was bizarre because I thought it was obvious to me that she wouldn't last much longer once she'd taken that route."
He said he remains "colleagues and friends" with Ms Truss - and described himself as an admirer of Rishi Sunak.