Piers Morgan fans have criticised him for giving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak an 'easy ride' in an interview on his TalkTV show tonight.
Piers, 57, invited the leader of the Conservative Party on to his programme, Piers Morgan Uncensored, to discuss a range of issues including the NHS crisis, nurses' pay and scandals within his party.
The broadcaster was invited into Number 10 Downing Street to speak with the Prime Minister in a special edition of his TalkTV show, where the pair chatted in the kitchen of the iconic London home.
Piers and Mr Sunak, 42, discussed a number of issues including the "mess he inherited" as the third UK Prime Minister in less than a year.
Elsewhere, Piers also asked some more personal questions to the PM, including asking if Mr Sunak was "romantic" and quizzed him on his Star Wars fandom.
Mr Sunak claimed he can get the economy growing again 'this year' and told the public to "have hope because I can make it better and I will make it better".
Viewers were disappointed by the chat as they thought the former Good Morning Britain presenter would be 'ripping him to bits' – with one calling the interview "promotional" for the Tory leader.
"I was looking forward to #piersmorgan ripping Rishi Rat to bits, but he is giving him an easy ride, wheres the real Piers?" one user tweeted.
Another posted: "Already 10 minutes in and this is nothing more than a chummy pint down the pub. Morgan doing his utmost to ask unchallenging questions in a clear ploy to garner more support."
"Why isn't Piers Morgan asking hard hitting questions? Why is Rishi sunak acting as if he's struggling with us all," one user questioned.
One user demanded: "What the hell is this questioning? I know @piersmorgan wants @RishiSunak to be PM but this is such a soft ball glossy Americanised interview … switching off! “Do you have a singing fish?!” FFS people are struggling; business are failing … he wasn’t elected!!!!"
And another viewer asked: "Just started the opening Piers speech Is this a Rishi Sunak promotional interview to improve his image with the public ? Who is Rishi ?" [sic]
Some were defending him, writing: "Brilliant interview, @piersmorgan Well done! Let's judge @RishiSunak by his results," while another said: "@piersmorgan really asks the big questions!! Love it."
However, in the hour-long interview, the outspoken journalist did grill Mr Sunak on giving nurses a pay rise following the strikes.
The last few months have seen nurses take to the picket lines in their tens of thousands in a deepening dispute over pay and conditions.
Latest figures show an experienced nurse's salary has dropped by 20 per cent in real terms over the past 12 years, meaning nurses are effectively working the equivalent of one day a week unpaid, according to the Royal College of Nursing.
The PM said: "I would love to give nurses a massive pay rise - who wouldn’t? It would make my life easier."
He added: "It's about choices".
But, Piers questioned the Prime Minister on nurses in England getting a worse deal than those in Scotland and Wales.
The TV journalist accused Mr Sunak of treating "nurses in England as less than nurses in Scotland and Wales" where they do not need to pay for parking at hospitals.
The Prime Minister responded with: "That's not far.... nurses in Scotland pay more tax than those in England."
And when he grilled Mr Sunak on if he could commit to scrapping parking charges, Piers called out the PM for "changing the subject".
"Lots of people go to work in different ways," he said, but Piers retorted: "Nurses save lives though."
Elsewhere in the interview, he told Piers that he was at a bowling alley with his family when he discovered Liz Truss was resigning.
Speaking about his plans, he said: "Grow the economy, yes, I do believe over the course of this year we’ll get the economy growing again.
"Reduce debt, we’ve already made some difficult decisions to ensure that that happens but we’ve got to stick to the path."
Mr Sunak has been facing ongoing pressure to explain exactly what he knew about Dominic Raab's conduct as the deputy Prime Minister faces an investigation into bullying allegations.
Elsewhere in Mr Sunak's first 100 days as PM, Tory Chairman Nadhim Zahawi was dramatically sacked over a "serious breach" of the ministerial code involving his tax affairs while Mr Sunak was fined by police after posting an Instagram video where he wasn't wearing a seatbelt in a moving car.
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