Rishi Sunak said he was “taken totally by surprise” by a £1,000 bet with Piers Morgan on the Government’s Rwanda policy. 

Mr Morgan bet the Prime Minister £1,000 to a refugee charity that Rwanda migrant deportation flights would not take off before the next general election. 

The Prime Minister did not verbally agree to the bet during an interview on TalkTV but the two men did shake hands, prompting a backlash from some of Mr Sunak’s political opponents who accused him of being “callous”. 

Mr Sunak was told during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast this morning that some people viewed the bet as “pretty offensive” given the cost of living pressures on many household budgets. 

He said: “If I am being totally honest I am not a betting person and I was taken totally by surprise in the middle of that interview…” 

Asked if it was a mistake to shake on the bet, Mr Sunak said: “The point I was trying to get across, as I said I was taken totally by surprise, the the point I was trying to get across was actually about the Rwanda policy and about tackling illegal migration because it is something I care deeply about. 

“Obviously people have strong views on this. I just was underlining my absolute commitment to this policy and my desire to get it through Parliament up and running because I believe you need to have a deterrent.”

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