RISHI Sunak has been filmed in an “excruciating” exchange with a homeless man while dishing out meals in a shelter.
The Prime Minister was serving cooked breakfasts to clients of a homeless shelter when one man asked him “are you sorting the economy out?”, to which Sunak replied: “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
The PM went on to ask the man if he worked in a business.
The man replied: “No, I’m homeless.”
Sunak asks a homeless man in a homeless shelter whether he "works in business", then proceeds to talk about the financial services industry. Utterly bizarre pic.twitter.com/jQPzg7RR4h
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) December 24, 2022
In an exchange that has sparked furious backlash online for Sunak, the Prime Minister spoke of his past as an investment banker before asking if finance was “something you’d like to get into?”.
The man answered: “Um yeah, I wouldn’t mind. I don’t know. I’d like to get through Christmas.”
He added that he was hoping to find temporary accommodation so that he could get off the street.
Following the exchange, Sunak has come under fire with various figures criticising the PM as “out of touch”.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner described the exchange as “excruciating” on social media.
Meanwhile, author James Felton tweeted: “There’s out of touch and then there’s a millionaire asking a homeless man in a homeless shelter if he’s in financial services.”
He added: “Why provide actual help for homeless people when you can use them as a Christmassy PR opportunity?”
The multimillionaire PM’s attendance at the homeless shelter comes amid a cost of living crisis that has seen inflation soar to double digits in the last year and heaped pressure on the most vulnerable across the UK.
Using a photo of his appearance at the shelter, the PM tweeted that the Government was investing £2 billion into helping the vulnerable.
For too many people, the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in a warm and safe environment is beyond reach.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) December 23, 2022
Words are not enough. We are investing £2 billion to give some of the most vulnerable people a roof over their heads, with targeted support to rebuild their lives. pic.twitter.com/9Kyl0j90il
He said: “For too many people, the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in a warm and safe environment is beyond reach. Words are not enough. We are investing £2 billion to give some of the most vulnerable people a roof over their heads, with targeted support to rebuild their lives.”
Downing Street has been contacted for comment.
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