BBC in new bias row as comedian Ben Elton brands Rishi Sunak a ‘mendacious narcissistic sociopath’ on flagship politics show
The BBC has been accused of anti-Tory bias after a Left-wing comedian branded Rishi Sunak a ‘mendacious narcissistic sociopath’ on the corporation’s flagship Sunday politics show.
Ben Elton said the Prime Minister was ‘dripping with vanity’ after he urged Brits to ‘hold your nerve’ over interest rate hikes and focus on the ‘enemy’ of inflation.
In a rant to host Laura Kuenssberg, Elton accused Mr Sunak of delivering an ‘extraordinary Orwellian, meaningless, evasive word salad’.
‘I sort of believed maybe he’s kind of a bit more decent, and it turns out, he’s as much of a mendacious, narcissistic sociopath as his previous boss,’ he told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
‘This man literally, he seemed to be making a principle of the fact that he resigned from a Government that he’d served loyally and tried to keep propped up for numerous years.
Ben Elton said Rishi Sunak was ‘dripping with vanity’ after he urged Brits to ‘hold your nerve’ over interest rate hikes and focus on the ‘enemy’ of inflation
Elton made the comments in a discussion with former Conservative special adviser Luke Tryl, now UK director of More in Common, and Marina Litvinenko
‘He’s trying to boast about having worried about inflation while he was chancellor of the exchequer under Johnson.
‘He seems to act as if being born into Downing Street six months ago was a miracle birth.
‘No – he was a part of a 13-year cycle which has got us to this point.’
He added: ‘He’s the Prime Minister. He owes us honesty but we got nothing but mendacity, evasion and vanity, just dripping with vanity.’
A Tory source claimed BBC producers had deliberately invited ‘anti-Conservative people from the arts world’ to make ‘personal insults’, which were then made into clips and ‘pushed out on social media’.
Ms Kuenssberg’s programme was the focus of controversy last year when the comedian Joe Lycett mocked Liz Truss before she became PM. After watching Ms Truss’s interview, Lycett could be heard shouting off-screen: ‘You smashed it, Liz!’
Tory MP Steve Brine said the BBC knew what they would they get from Left-wing comedian Elton, 64, and it would be for licence fee payers to decide whether it was wise to invite him on.
In a BBC interview yesterday, Rishi Sunak urged homeowners being crippled by soaring interest rates to recognise that inflation is ‘the enemy’
‘I would think most people in the country are more interested in hearing from another Elton,’ he told The Independent – referring to Elton John’s appearance at Glastonbury.
Elton made the comments in a discussion with former Conservative special adviser Luke Tryl, now UK director of More in Common, and Marina Litvinenko – an activist and the wife of murdered Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko.
In his interview before Elton’s diatribe, Mr Sunak urged homeowners being crippled by soaring interest rates to recognise that inflation is ‘the enemy’.
He said he was taking the difficult decisions to ease surging prices and get the economy back on track – and ‘totally supported’ drastic action by the Bank of England.
The bullish stance came despite polls showing Tory support sliding amid mounting challenges, with Tories up in arms after Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ruled out early tax cuts.
His bullish stance came despite polls showing Tory support sliding amid mounting challenges
Challenged that he was living ‘in a parallel universe’ over the pain being endured by mortgage payers, Mr Sunak said: ‘I have to make difficult decisions as Prime Minister. Everyone can see the context that we’re in with inflation and interest rates.
Elton is a vocal Labour supporter, and in 2022 said he chooses to support the party for the ‘selfish’ reason that he wants to be able to enjoy his success more knowing there were fewer homeless people in Britain.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘We feature a wide range of guests and opinions across the series and ensure we meet our due impartiality commitments.’
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