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I wondered how I could top my wife’s surprise conference speech, jokes Sunak

Akshata Murty made a surprise speaking appearance on stage at the event in Manchester.

Richard Wheeler
Friday 06 October 2023 12:02 BST
Ms Murty introduced her husband at the conference (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Ms Murty introduced her husband at the conference (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

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Rishi Sunak joked he thought he could “call it a day” after watching his wife’s surprise address at the Conservative Party conference.

The Prime Minister said the warm-up speech from Akshata Murty was “kept secret” from him until very late on.

Ms Murty told the Tory gathering in Manchester that she and her husband were each other’s best friends, and added she “could not imagine being anywhere else” ahead of his speech to close the event.

Mr Sunak, appearing on ITV’s This Morning, said: “I only knew really very late on that she was doing anything and the first time I heard her was when I was standing behind the stage, ready to come on.

“It was very lovely, it was also just a big day for me. I was making a big speech, I was making these three big announcements on HS2, smoking and changing our education system, so a big moment for me to have her there to support me and it was really nice before I went on.”

Asked if he was left thinking how he could follow her speech, Mr Sunak joked: “I was like ‘phew, I can just call it a day now and just go’, but, no, it was lovely to have her there.”

During a quickfire round, Mr Sunak said he preferred Oppenheimer as a film but “loved going to Barbie because we went as a family”, chose Taylor Swift over Britney Spears “unless I’m on my Peloton and my instructor there loves Britney Spears”, and noted he once dressed as Harry Potter when attending a Halloween Party with his wife.

He also chose Big Brother over I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here, before adding: “Actually the Netflix Beckham documentary right now, I’ve started watching that, I saved it for after conference, it is absolutely brilliant, reliving my childhood.”

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