Thursday, May 30, 2024

UK

Rishi Sunak wears £750 ($954.92 USD)
 backpack on visit to one of poorest areas of the country

The luxury accessory had his initials engraved on the side.

 by Ryan Price
2024-05-30 


Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been photographed on a visit to one of the least affluent areas of the country wearing a designer backpack worth £750.

The Conservative Party leader was boarding a sleeper train to Penzance, on the coast of Cornwall, for the next leg of his campaign trail, ahead of the general election on 4th July.

In the clip shared to social media, Sunak can be seen approaching the doors of the carriage, before shaking hands with two members of rail staff and jumping on board.

The Mirror must have been struck by how fancy his bag looked, and took it upon themselves to identify it’s make and manufacturer.

The backpack was identified as a Tumi Arrive Bradley model, which is out of stock on the Selfridges website but was previously available for a whopping £750.

We found a similar model on the official Tumi website which is going for the higher price of £1100.



The description of the aesthetically pleasing accessory is as follows: “This sleek design is as functional as it is stylish, letting you protect and carry everything from your laptop and tablet to your glasses, phone, and keys.

“The ArrivĂ© collection takes its cues from automotive design, with high-polish chrome details, elegant curves, and sleek magnetic zippers. Our ultra-modern pieces make world-class business partners and travel companions.”


It’s likely that the country’s leader paid a little extra for his backpack, considering it’s been personalised with his initials on the side.

Penzance is the first stop on this week’s leg of the campaign trail, with the Prime Minister set to visit Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales and the Tees Valley too in the coming days.

After arriving in Cornwall, Mr Sunak faced questions about why he’s taking levelling up funds away from the county to pay for his recently announced National Service plan.


The scheme could deprive some of the UK’s poorest areas of cash for community safety and high street regeneration.

Considering Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are the richest inhabitants of Downing Street in history, it’s not entirely surprising that he is the proud owner of one of the most expensive backpacks on the market.

Perhaps someone should have advised the Prime Minister to swap the Tumi bag out for an Umbro one before he headed to the train station.

Rishi Sunak challenged over Partygate by factory worker whose mother died during pandemic


30 May 2024

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The Prime Minister was quizzed by a worker during a visit to a factory in Milton Keynes. Picture: Getty Images


By Flaminia Luck@flaminialuck

Rishi Sunak has been confronted over the Partygate scandal while on the election campaign by a worker whose mother died during the pandemic.

Nick Fox, 35, quizzed the Prime Minister how he could be trusted during a staff Q&A at a cherry picker manufacturer near Milton Keynes.

The environment, health and safety officer said he lost his mother in 2020, a month after Mr Sunak attended then-prime minister Boris Johnson's birthday celebration in No 10.

"How can anyone trust you or the party after things like this?" Mr Fox asked him.

Mr Sunak replied: "Well, I'm really sorry that you lost your mum and particularly in those circumstances, because it wasn't easy for so many people during the pandemic, the impact it had on everyone's life.

"And I can't imagine what it must have been for you not to be able to be with her at that time. It's really tough.

"And I'm sorry for what was going on in Downing Street. And for my part, I apologise that I showed up to a meeting earlier."

The Prime Minister went on to highlight his work as then-chancellor implementing the furlough scheme during the Covid-19 crisis.

He said: "As you know, I was working on things to help you and your business and many other families like that.

"And in fact, it was probably in that same period of time that you got to know me as chancellor.

"Most of you didn't know who I was before then, and I popped up on your TV screens, announced the furlough scheme ... Hopefully, some of you here benefited from some of the support that we put in place."

Rishi Sunak at a staff Q&A on the campaign trail at Nifty Lifts headquarters, Buckinghamshire. Picture: Getty

Mr Fox later said he was not convinced by Mr Sunak's answer.

"He talked about hard times and this kind of thing. They haven't tightened their belts. They gave a load of contracts to their mates and this kind of thing.

"His apology isn't accepted. I wasn't looking for an apology either."

He said he was "not really that surprised" when he found out about parties in Downing Street around the same time his mother, Christine Fox, died aged 66.

"I think we all knew things like that were going to happen. It was going to be one rule for us and another rule for them.

"It doesn't really make it any easier. It's still very frustrating."

Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson were fined for attending the then-prime minister's birthday gathering in Downing Street in June 2020.

Mr Sunak reportedly spent hours agonising over whether to resign as chancellor when he was issued with a fixed-penalty notice in April 2022, but ultimately decided against it.

Read more: Moment 'Britain's worst dine-and-dash couple' arrested by police after racking up nearly £1,200 in unpaid food bills
'Cold comfort'

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: "Rishi Sunak will go down in history as the partygate chancellor.

"People up and down the country won't forget Sunak's involvement in Boris Johnson's lying and lawbreaking government.

"His weasel words will come as cold comfort to bereaved families who struggled during the pandemic."




Shelagh Fogarty responds to Rishi Sunak not voting on Partygate report

Last year, the Prime Minister was criticsed for abstaining on a vote over the Partygate scandal.

MPs were invited to vote for or against the Privileges Committee's finding that Boris Johnson knowingly and repeatedly lied in Parliament.The vote concluded with an overwhelming majority in favour of the report.

However, as this was a "free vote" some MPs were absent - including Rishi Sunak.


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