Piers Morgan shaking hands with Rishi Sunak over their £1,000 betRishi Sunak has infuriated Piers Morgan after seemingly refusing to pay up for the £1,000 bet they made over the Rwanda scheme.
In early February, the prime minister bet asylum seekers would be deported to the African country by the time the next general election came around.
Sunak even shook hands with the then-TalkTV presenter on his show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, over their deal.
The clip went viral, with many suggesting it was distasteful for two powerful figures to be betting on the lives of refugees.
The clip has now resurfaced because Sunak admitted this week that there would be no flights taking off to Rwanda before the general election on July 4.
He said that the controversial would go “if I’m re-elected” in six weeks’ time.
Rishi Sunak has accepted a £1,000 bet from Piers Morgan that deportation flights to Rwanda will be up and running before the General Election.
— The Independent (@Independent) February 5, 2024
The full interview is due to be shown on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel at 2pm and TalkTV at 8pm on Monday (5 February). pic.twitter.com/RcF49sSrfM
Morgan then posted on X on Thursday: “Dear Prime Minister @RishiSunak @10DowningStreet.. following your admission today that no flights will take off to Rwanda before the election, please send £1000 to @BritishRedCross.- Kind regards, Piers.”
However, The Telegraph reported that No.10 was refusing to honour the bet.
Downing Street instead just claimed that one asylum seeker did end up go to Rwanda recently.
Actually, the person who went to Rwanda was a failed asylum seeker who was paid £3,000 by the UK government to move under a voluntary scheme meant to cut down on the asylum backlog.
This is not the same as the mandatory programme which intends to deport asylum seekers who come to the UK via illegal means.
Morgan responded to The Telegraph’s story by posting on X: “WHAT?! You can’t be serious @10DowningStreet???”
Sunak made headlines last week as he and his wife’s net worth soared to £651m according to The Sunday Times’ Rich List – making them wealthier than King Charles.
