Rishi Sunak said he flew back from a government visit last December to prevent the country from falling into a new COVID lockdown.
The former prime minister and Tory leadership candidate told LBC the UK is “a few hours away from a press conference” announcing measures due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
But he said he was “fighting very actively against the system” to prevent the lockout from being introduced.
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As 2021 ended, Omicron became the dominant variant in the country and cases rose rapidly, with Boris Johnson advising people to exercise “caution” around building until Christmas and Health officials urge the public to limit their exposure.
There are a lot of rumors that the government will introduce new restrictions as companies – especially in the hotel sector – call for more support when people have canceled the event.
But on December 16, Mr Johnson said there was no order for people to cancel gatherings and exclude any keys “by hiding”.
The same day, the Treasury confirmed Mr. Sunak would cut short his trip – reported to be one day – to return from the US to hold talks with business leaders about the impact of this variation.
It prompted questions around his whereabouts as cases increased, with Labor asking him to “leave Hollywood and get back to reality”.
In tonight’s interview with Andrew Marr, Mr. Sunak said: “What I did in December was fly back from a government business trip that I went abroad.
“And I flew back to this country to prevent us from sleepwalking into a national shutdown, because we are only hours away from a press conference that will shut down this country again because Omicron.”
He added: “I have come back and fought very hard against the system because I believe it would be the wrong thing to do for this country, with all the damage it will do to businesses. , for children’s education, for people’s lives.”
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Sunak says there won’t be any more support
Mr Sunak made the remarks a day after being a finalist two in the Conservative leadership contest, facing Liz Truss on the ballot.
Foreign Minister is currently leading the raceaccording to a poll of Tory Party members who will decide their next leader and next prime minister over the next six weeks.
Mr Sunak said he was pleased he had “won” last year’s debate and said it would give voters confidence that he was “ready to push and fight for the things I believe in right now”. even when it’s hard.”
