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RISHI'S VOW
Rishi Sunak says ‘I can’t help who I fall in love with’ when asked about wife’s wealth
Watch Sun Political Editor Harry Cole interview the PM on our new show
RISHI Sunak said he "can't help who I fall in love with" in a grilling over his wife's fortune and his US Green Card.
The Prime Minister only gave up his American permanent resident status in 2021.
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Quizzed about the unusual set up on the Sun's Never Mind the Ballots show, he admitted he had held it as an MP, minster and even Chancellor.
But he insisted that was within the rules and had never been called up on it by US Immigration officials.
In a no-holds barred grilling, the Prime Minister also:
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- VOWED to quit Euro court if needed to stop the boats
- STILL didn't know when general election will be
- CLASHED with fuming cabbie over small boats crisis
- DENIED claims homeless people will be fined for being smelly
- PROMISES he WILL tackle disgraceful conditions for veterans
- INSISTED his plan IS working as he hailed tax cuts
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Mr Sunak claimed it was a "legacy thing" and accepted he had kept it even after moving to the UK as he had not "got round" to sending back.
Despite claims from his political enemies that he is plotting in a life in the USA after office, the PM told the Sun the UK was his "permanent home".
'But the boats are still coming!' Rishi Sunak grilled over migrant crisis on Never Mind The Ballots
However he shut down questions about whether his wife had told the British taxman that the UK would be her permanent home too when applying for Non-Dom tax status.
RISHI TACKLES YOUR QUESTIONS
RISHI Sunak faced Sun readers this Wednesday in a no-holds-barred grilling.
The PM was quizzed by Political Editor Harry Cole — two weeks after Sir Keir Starmer's appearance on our Never Mind the Ballots show.
And he answered YOUR questions:
Are your trousers too short?
He hit back at critics who claim his trousers are too short and declared how baggy trousers are a real turn-off.
When asked why he wears his trousers up to two inches too short, he laughed: "Well I don't think they are that short."
Pushed on whether he thought his style was trendy or the latest style, he added: "I tend not to like lots of baggy, baggy stuff at the bottom of my ankle.
"I don't think they are that short."
When did you last go to Wetherspoons?
The PM was also asked when he last went to one of the nation's favourite pub chains Wetherspoons.
He said: "I was in Wetherspoons actually not that long ago. I think it was in Rother Valley actually… doing one of my events talking to everyone there in the local community.
"We have a Wetherspoons at home in Northallerton which is fantastic."
What is your go-to order?
When asked what his go-to order is, he said: "Well, actually I used to go there with my kids in the old days when I had more time.
"We used to do the junior Park Run, from memory. But we'd go there for breakfast more than anything else, cos I used to like the breakfasts there.
"I think I probably still have the app on my phone."
Do your daughters have a smartphone?
He revealed that his two girls Krishna and Anoushka both got phones as they came to the end of their time at Primary School.
But both the PM and his wife Akshata discuss how to "juggle" about the right thing to do with their time on the devices.
When asked whether the girls have smartphones, he said: "Yeah. I have two girls 11 and 12, about to be 13, who thankfully probably won't be watching this.
"They do both have phones. And they got them near the end of Primary School.
"I talked to my wife about this a lot. And we're trying to juggle that like all parents are.
"I'm forming my views about what the right to do with my wife."
He insisted that Akshata Murthy is a "private citizen" and hailed the recent Budget announcement to end the controversial loophole on foreign earnings.
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The revelation that his wife held Non-Dom status caused a political storm for the Chancellor in 2021, with Ms Murthy eventually offering to voluntarily pay UK tax on her foreign earnings.
She owns a one per cent share - worth around £690million - in the IT multinational firm Inosys founded by her dad.
Her father Narayana Murthy founded the company that is now worth some £58billion but the PM insists he was retired and had not been involved for some years.
Mr Sunak also put his foot down to outright deny any suggestion anyone from Infosys has piled pressure on him to change immigration rules.
The firm boasted in a 2021 Annual Report that they had successfully pushed for the liberalisation of visas for IT workers in the UK and US.
Asked if he had ever been lobbied by anyone from Infosys, the PM firmly said: "No"
When asked if he could see whether there is a perception of a conflict of interest, he opened up to say: "I can't control who I fall in love with.
"I happened to fall in love with my wife when I met her. And her family have done something incredibly special.
"Her dad created a company from scratch from absolutely nothing when he was growing up in India.
"It's a company that employs thousands of people around the world - including thousands here in the UK.
"I have nothing but pride and admiration for everything that he's achieved.
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"My wife's family are not even involved in that company and haven't been for years."
You can watch Never Mind the Ballots on and .
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'AWFUL, AWFUL TRAGEDY'
RISHI Sunak last night paid tribute to the three "brave Brits
The PM also demanded a massive increase in the amount of aid as he warned of the "increasingly intolerable" situation.
He made his first comments about the deaths of three British nationals on The Sun's Never Mind The Ballots.
Three veterans - former Special Boat Service hero John Chapman, 57, ex-Royal Marine James Henderson, 33, and Army veteran James Kirby - were killed by an Israeli air strikes while delivering vital aid.
Mr Sunak told The Sun's political editor Harry Cole: "It's an awful, awful tragedy.
"To think these were brave Brits who were risking their lives to bring aid to people in need in Gaza... to have lost their lives in these circumstances is a tragedy. My thoughts obviously are with their families."
He ramped up calls on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for a "transparent independent investigation" into their deaths.
"I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and I was very clear with him that the situation is increasingly intolerable and what we urgently need to see is a thorough, transparent investigation into what happened.
"But also a dramatic increase in the amount of aid getting into Gaza, removing the barriers.
"Also, closer work with aid agencies so that things like this don't happen again."
And while Britain supported "Israel's right" to flush out Hamas terrorists, he demanded that more aid be allowed into Gaza.
Pressure has grown on the government recently to suspend export licences for arms sales to Israel.
Pressed on the issue, Mr Sunak said all such licences are kept under "careful" review but stopped short of a hard pledge to revoke them.
Mr Sunak said: "We've always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to. There are a set of rules regulations and procedures that we'll always follow.
"And I've been consistently clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu since the start of this conflict that whilst of course we defend Israel's right to defend itself and it's people against attacks from Hamas, they have to do that in accordance with humanitarian law, protect civilian lives, get more aid into Gaza.
"What we want to see is an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more aid in and crucially for more hostages to also be released - and that's what we'll continue to push for.
"What's happened is a tragedy, and it shouldn't have happened and there are questions that need answering and that's why I've been very clear that what we expect is a thorough, transparent investigation into what has happened.
"Also I want to see a dramatic increase in the amount of aid flowing into Gaza and closer work with the aid agencies so these types of things just do not happen."
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