Rishi Sunak placed on spot by BBC host over £1,000 Rwanda wager with Piers Morgan | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Rishi Sunak mentioned he was “taken totally by surprise” by a £1,000 wager with Piers Morgan over the Rwanda coverage.

The Prime Minister shook fingers on the wager with the TalkTV presenter that flights carrying asylum seekers to the African nation would take off earlier than the following normal election in an interview yesterday.

But he insisted he’s “not a betting person” as he addressed criticism over the wager right this moment.

Mr Sunak informed BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’m not a betting person and I was taken totally by surprise in the middle of that interview.”

Pressed on if it was a mistake to shake his hand, Mr Sunak added: “No, well the point I was trying to get across – as I was taken totally by surprise – the point I was trying to get across was actually about the Rwanda policy and about tackling illegal migration because it’s something I care deeply about.

“I simply was underlying my absolute dedication to this coverage and my need to get it by Parliament, up and operating, as a result of I imagine you have to have a deterrent.

“Now people have lots of different views but if you care about stopping the flow of illegal migration as I do, I believe you’ve got to have a deterrent.

“You’ve obtained to have someplace you possibly can ship individuals so if they arrive right here illegally they are not capable of keep. I feel until you may have that you just will not ever have the ability to correctly resolve that downside.

“We’ve made progress last year the numbers are down by a third but without the deterrent, you won’t be able to solve this problem. I want to do that, I think the vast majority of the British people want this problem solved.”

During the TalkTV interview, Mr Morgan wager Mr Sunak “£1,000 to a refugee charity you don’t get anybody on those planes before the election”.

The Prime Minister replied: “I want to get the people on the planes. I am working incredibly hard to get the people on the planes.”

The pair then shook fingers as Mr Morgan repeated the quantity.

The controversial Rwanda coverage has up to now been thwarted by authorized challenges that resulted within the Supreme Court ruling final 12 months that it was illegal.

Mr Sunak is attemping to revive the plan with a brand new treaty with Kigali and his Rwanda Bill deeming the nation as secure.