Rishi Sunak has refused to say whether he uses private healthcare - insisting it is a 'distraction' while the NHS creaks under soaring pressure. Giving his first TV interview of 2023, the Prime Minister was asked whether he had a private GP four times by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.
Mr Sunak tried to initially deflect the question as he recalled growing up 'in an NHS family' and insisted he would not discuss his own or his family's healthcare 'as a general policy' and that 'it’s not really relevant, what’s relevant is the difference I can make to the country.”, but Ms Kuenssberg insisted the PM's decision-making was a matter of 'public interest'. She also reminded Mr Sunak that former Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher had been open about her use of private healthcare during her time in office.
The PM told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg : "It's just a personal choice. It's about healthcare, I think it's [something] that is private, but I think what people care about is am I going to make a difference on the things that they care about.
