Conservative Party member Tom from Gateshead, who appeared on Sky News’ Battle for Number 10, called on the foreign secretary and Tory leadership frontrunner to apologize for initially designing a policy that was “actually quite offensive”. . Ms Truss refused to do so, reiterating that the media had “misinterpreted” the proposal and that she was “not moving forward with this policy because of the concerns that have been expressed”. Politics Hub: Sunak and Truss join Sky News Battle for Number 10 special Meanwhile, fellow leadership contender Rishi Sunak also faced a tough time during the leadership special, with one Tory member saying: “You’ve hammered Boris for your own benefit.” Responding to the comment, which referred to the former chancellor’s resignation last month which led to a series of ministerial resignations, Mr Sunak justified his departure, saying: “The government was on the wrong side of a moral issue that I could not defend. “ The former chancellor also vowed not to concede in the Tory leadership contest despite Mrs Truss leading the polls and vowed to “fight incredibly hard until the last day” of the campaign. Asked if he would stand down as a member of the Conservative Party in the audience, the former chancellor said: “The quick answer is no, and that’s because I’m fighting for something I really believe in and taking my ideas across the country. “ Mr Sunak’s response came after polls by both YouGov and ConservativeHome this week showed Ms Truss extending her lead over him in the Number 10 race. Ms Truss was scrutinized at length over her U-turn this week on her public sector pay proposal. Asked by presenter Kay Burley how she arrived at the £8.8bn figure as part of her plan if the policy was “misinterpreted”, the Foreign Secretary admitted: “I don’t have details”. He added: “I accept that the way the policy was interpreted to cover these people was not correct. And that’s why I made the immediate decision not to go ahead with it.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 21:56 Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss was asked probing questions by Conservative Party members during the Sky News special On Monday night, the Foreign Secretary said she would save £8.8bn by introducing regional pay boards instead of national ones to set salaries for civil servants, which would mean civil servants in poorer areas of the country would be paid their counterparts in more affluent areas. , such as the South East and London. Experts warned to reach the figure the plan needed to include teachers, nurses and police. After the policy sparked outrage from some Conservatives, on Tuesday lunchtime Ms Truss’ team hit back at the plans and released a statement insisting that “current levels of public sector pay will absolutely be maintained”. Elsewhere during the Sky News leadership special, Mr Sunak was also probed about whether he or anyone in his family benefited from offshore tax havens. He replied “no”, adding: “I have never benefited.” Other highlights during each candidate’s 45-minute roast included: • Ms Truss told the audience: “There are no skeletons in my closet. • Mr Sunak defended an old video in which he claimed he had no working-class friends, saying “we all say stupid things when we’re younger”. • The foreign minister said “it would be wrong to cede any territory on behalf of the Ukrainians”. • Mr Sunak said a “huge difference” could be made between now and next winter to reduce the UK’s dependence on Russian energy. • When told by a member of the public that her policies were “not economically sound”, Ms Truss said “trying to balance the books prematurely is actually counterproductive”. • Mr Sunak defended his plan to charge people who miss GP appointments £10, saying the NHS should be “free at the point of use but not free at the point of misuse”. • Ms Truss said she would support doctors and nurses by “removing some of the central mandates” and “having fewer layers of management”. • Former chancellor said ‘yes, I’m pretty tough’ on Ukraine • When told by a member of the public that her policies were “not economically sound”, Ms Truss said “trying to balance the books prematurely is actually counterproductive”. • The Foreign Secretary also refused to say whether she would remove the Tory whip from Boris Johnson if he is found to have lied to MPs. Ms Truss appeared to take another U-turn by reversing her previous belief that more homes should be built on green land to stimulate the economy. “I’ve changed my view on that,” Ms Truss said when quizzed on the matter, adding: “What I’ve seen is how these top-down targets have had the opposite effect of building of the houses. “And I’m now of the view that what we need to do is to have incentives to get local councils to create investment zones and do things differently because the current system is not working.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 19:56 Conservative leadership candidate Rishi Sunak faced questions from Kay Burley during the Battle for Number 10 special. Meanwhile, Mr Sunak attacked Ms Truss over her economic policies, saying she was not “promising £10 and £10 billion of goodies” in an apparent swipe at the Foreign Secretary’s plans for tax cuts. He called such an approach “risky” and said he wanted to “be honest” with the country. “I want to be straight with the country about the challenges we face and what it will take to fix them. “And that’s why I think you can trust me on this because I’m ready to do it. Even though it will cost me politically,” Mr Sunak told the audience. Earlier in the program, Ms Truss said a recession was not inevitable after the Bank of England warned Britons faced two years of falling household incomes with inflation soaring above 13% and the economy plunging into its deepest recession since economic crisis. “What the Bank of England said today is of course extremely worrying, but it is not inevitable. We can change the outcome and we can make the economy more likely to grow,” he said. Asked about the same issue and whether there was anything he could do about a recession, Mr Sunak told the Sky News debate: “Of course, there is, of course.” He said that “capturing inflation” was the most important aspect of preventing recession, adding: “So what I’m not going to do is go on a borrowing spree of tens of billions of pounds, put it on the nation’s credit card, ask our children and grandchildren to pick up the tab because this is not right. That’s not responsible.”
