LIZ Truss has been caught on a hot mic apologising for attacking the media during the Tory leadership hustings in Darlington.
The Foreign Secretary accused “some of the media” of attempting to “talk our country down” during the evening and accused journalists of framing questions in a “left-wing way”.
Host and journalist Tom Newton-Dunn was asking Truss about how she plans to help people tackle soaring energy bills using tax cuts, when he mentioned “your handouts” as he sought to pose a question.
Truss interrupted, saying: “They are not giveaways Tom. This is people’s money, but this is the problem with the way that every question is framed.
“You’re framing it in a left-wing way Tom. I’m afraid the whole media does this all the time […] it drives me mad.”
She was then asked if Boris Johnson’s downfall as Prime Minister was one of his own making or someone else’s.
Some audience members were heard shouting that it was the “media”.
Truss said: “Sounds like you’re being blamed Tom and, you know, who am I to disagree with this excellent audience?”
Asked to clarify her comments, Truss outlined how she was a “loyal Cabinet minister,” but did not directly answer the question posed to her, saying “what is done is done and we are where we are”.
Later, talking about her spending commitments, she said: “I believe in Britain, unlike some of the media who choose to talk our country down.”
Newton Dunn replied: “For the record, that’s the third time you’ve attacked the media – a lot of which supports your campaign.”
As the pair hugged at the end of the hustings, Truss was heard saying: “I am sorry I was mean about the media, Tom.”
Newton Dunn replied that the jibes made about the media were “cheap and you know it”.
Truss’s opponent in the race to become the next prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was also asked for his thoughts on Boris Johnson.
Sunak said that the Prime Minister’s “downfall” was “his own” fault.
The MP for Richmond also said the cross-party group of MPs due to investigate whether Johnson lied to Parliament over the partygate scandal “will make the right decision” and he would “fully support” them.
The only Conservative Party hustings in Scotland is set to take place on August 16 in Perth, where a pro-independence protest is also scheduled.
