Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer went head-to-head for the second, and final time before the public goes to the polls on July 4.
Starmer said: “You have to lead from the front on issues like this...the instinct of these people is to think the first thing they should do is try to make money, that was the wrong instinct, and we have to change that.” Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arriving for their BBC Head-to-head debateThe Metropolitan Police has also been dragged into the scandal as they has launched an investigation. Meanwhile at least five officers, and one of the PM's close protection officers facing a probe from theReports are now beginning to emerge that alongside the betting probes, many other individuals have had their names flagged to investigators.
Mr Sunak claimed Labour had “opposed every single measure” regarding previous proposals he’d made on this issue, including demanding more medical information for health related benefits claims, and withdrawing support after 12 months to those who are turning down job offers. Dubbing it a "national security issue", Starmer says "we've got to process the claims" and "smash the gangs".
He asked: "Are you going to try and do a deal with the Taliban? It's completely nonsensical. You are taking people for fools."The debate then shifted towards money - where it is coming from, and what it will be spent on. After pushing the Labour leader to match the Tories’ promise of a triple lock plus policy, Mr Sunak said: “If you are a pensioner, you should know, there is a retirement tax coming for you. Capital ‘r’, capital ‘t’, if he is your prime minister.”
Questioned on this, the prime minister said: “Yes, unequivocally yes. And we will do that by changing the law, so that the old Equalities Act recognises that sex means biological sex.”While the Labour leader agreed that “yes” it was “very important” to protect women-only spaces, he added: “I do recognise that there are a small number of people who are born into a gender that they don’t identify with, and I will treat them, as I treat all human beings, with dignity and respect.