UK Opposition Labour Party slammed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday over a television clip in which he could be seen asking a homeless man, during a visit to the shelter run by the charity Passage, if he 'worked in business'. He had this awkward exchange with a man while he was volunteering at a soup kitchen for the poor and homeless on Christmas.
The man named Dean replied to PM Sunak and that reply was telecast on ITV News channel. He replied, “No, I’m homeless. I’m actually a homeless person.” However, the man then said that he was interested in business which prompted Sunak to ask what kind of business to which the man replied, Finance.
Sunak said: “I used to work in finance, actually. Is that something you’d like to get into?” The man responded to this by saying: “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind. But, I don’t know, I’d like to get through Christmas first."
This exchange of words between them has garnered reactions on social media. Labour Deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted about the clip that it was 'excruciating.'
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Labour MP Stella Creasy said: “Watching this I am concerned that the Prime Minister thinks homeless means ‘don’t have a country pile (second home) at the moment’.”
Another Labour MP, Bill Esterson, said that the exchange showcased the Prime Minister being “out of touch” at a time when the country faced a cost of living crisis.
Sunak during a pre-Christmas visit praised the “fantastic work” being done to support people over the festive period.
While talking to the media, he said: “Most of us this weekend, this Christmas, will be inside, will be warm, will be safe, will be with our families. But sadly that’s not true for everybody. And that’s why the government’s investing a significant amount to reduce the number of people who are sleeping rough or are homeless.”
With Agency Inputs