Rishi Sunak is adopting “deflection tactics” by making a bizarre confession over his tastes, according to a political commentator.
The Prime Minister admitted he is a fan of reading raunchy blockbusters, with his go-to book being Jilly Cooper’s 1985 fiction Riders.
The romance tells the story of a wealthy toff romping with show jumpers in the Cotswolds, with one passage describing an orgy as “a heavy anthill of arms and legs”.
Another passage reads: “He undid the buttons of her shirt with trembling hands and buried his face in the billowy cleavage, breathing in her scent.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has revealed his taste in books
GB NewsThe revelation was reported in The Spectator, and according to broadcaster Sean McDonald, is a “deflection tactic” to stave off criticism aimed at the PM.
Sunak is faced with a tranche of issues, namely scrutiny over his migration aims after it was revealed net migration could hit a record high.
Speaking on GB News, Sean McDonald said: “When I read this, I thought this is 100 per cent some sort of dead cat story.
“I think this is possibly some sort of distraction tactic.”
The Prime Minister is facing scrutiny over his migration pledge
PAMcDonald said the revelation goes against the grain when it comes to the public persona Sunak often tends to portray.
He told Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello: “He’s as bland as porridge, if he was a day, he’d be Tuesday.
“This is probably the sort of thing he would be doing - popping away for ten minutes to get his novel out - just to have a read in privacy!”
It comes after the Daily Telegraph reported ministers are braced for official net migration figures released later in May to show net migration is now between 650,000 and 997,000.
This would surpass the previous peak of 504,000 in the year to June 2022 and place pressure on Mr Sunak over the Government’s 2019 pledge to reduce the numbers.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has previously said legal migration will help offset slower growth in productivity and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt acknowledged in November it is “very important” to the economy.
Asked whether Mr Sunak had two contradictory aims – to reduce migration on one hand but boost it on the other – Downing Street said it would “not accept that characterisation”.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “The points-based system allows you to have flexibility to recognise you have shortages in one area and more people to come to work in those professions … and we don’t need any people in another specific area.”
The points-based immigration system assesses applicants for skilled workers visas by considering attributes such as English language fluency, having an offer of employment and suitable qualifications.
