'I've Never Heard Such Rubbish' – Sky Presenter Savages Tory Leadership Candidates
Sky News presenter Ian King has torn into Tory MPs running to replace Boris Johnson for spouting “rubbish” about the economy.
The business journalist blasted the Conservative leadership hopefuls for brandishing around “unfunded tax cuts”.
It comes after the governor of the Bank of England carefully rebuked the new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi for promising tax cuts in media interviews.
Zahawi is one of many candidates vying to cut taxes if they become the next prime minister.
Others, including attorney general Suella Braverman, foreign secretary Liz Truss and former foreign and health secretary Jeremy Hunt, have also promised to reduce taxes.
But veteran broadcaster King described the whole thing as an “absolute farce” and told fellow host Kay Burley: “I’ve never heard such a lot of rubbish coming out of some of these people’s mouths.
“I remember a time when the Conservatives stood for sound money.
“You know, here they all are brandishing these unfunded tax cuts around.
“I mean, the whole thing is an absolute farce, isn’t it? Anyway, should I tell you about something else?”
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Earlier today Zahawi insisted he was right to set out tax proposals in his bid to be prime minister.
He told BBC Breakfast: “I’m setting out my stall as prime minister and I have fully costed these pledges, and I’ll be saying more about the way we’ll pay for that in the coming days.”
Zahawi also made a thinly veiled swipe at his predecessor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, saying that “cutting taxes isn’t a fairytale”.
He said in his leadership campaign video: “I believe cutting taxes isn’t a fairytale but rather a critical step to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.”
Sunak had accused his Tory leadership rivals of being dishonest and indulging in “fairytales” with their promises to cut the tax burden.