Rishi Sunak: Key questions had been lower brief – however that did not cease prime minister getting skewered on the Liaison Committee

For the senior MPs on the Liaison Committee, it was a chance missed. Apart from one explosive conflict that left a shifty-looking Rishi Sunak completely skewered.

Coming six months to the day for the reason that prime minister introduced his 5 priorities for the 12 months, the committee ought to have put him beneath stress on the progress to date.

But it was largely an unsatisfactory 90 minutes, with the MPs’ questions continually interrupted by a fussy Sir Bernard Jenkin, the chairman, who was speeding them alongside in a frantic try to complete on time.

At the start of the session at 2pm, Mr Sunak haughtily informed Sir Bernard he had a “pressing engagement” at 3.30pm, so they have to not go over time. To which Sir Bernard ought to have replied: “Tough!”

The greatest disappointment was his curbing of the forensic Dame Diana Johnson, who was starting to get beneath the PM’s pores and skin with some robust questions on one in every of his 5 priorities, cease the boats.

Dame Diana, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, accused him of betting the whole lot on his Rwanda coverage being upheld within the Supreme Court. Not truthful, he stated. The cease the boats pledge was on maintain, she claimed. No, he stated.

The different essential conflict on one in every of Mr Sunak’s 5 priorities got here throughout some tenacious interrogation on the price of dwelling disaster by Labour’s Catherine McKinnell, first on hovering meals costs after which on spiralling mortgage prices.

One of the numerous questions the prime minister dodged in the course of the 90-minute listening to was when Ms McKinnell, one of many stars of those Liaison Committee hearings, requested him what share he would placed on attaining his goal of halving inflation.

Lamely, he replied: “I’m working 100% to deliver it.”

It was all very bland, stuffed with jargon akin to “downstream cost”, no matter that’s, and the PM seemed he wished he was someplace else and could not be bothered.

But then he acquired a shock. The committee exploded into life in a blistering change with Sir Chris Bryant, who chairs the Standards Committee and lambasted Mr Sunak for dodging privileges votes, Commons statements and PMQs.

On the Privileges Committee report on seven Tory MPs denouncing the Boris Johnson partygate inquiry as a “whitewash” and “kangaroo court”, Mr Sunak stated: “I haven’t read every page of the report.”

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“It’s three pages long!” Sir Chris shot again. It’s additionally value stating that Mr Sunak quoted the report he stated he hadn’t learn in his letter to Zac Goldsmith after he resigned final Friday.

At one level throughout his extremely entertaining skewering of Mr Sunak, Sir Chris threw his head again and shouted: “Oh come off it, prime minister.” Many folks listening to the entire session could have endorsed that sentiment.

If these classes are to work and be productive, they have to be longer than 90 minutes, as they was once. The committee has already lower the variety of MPs asking questions, which has helped.

The entire concept of the hearings is for detailed cross-examination of a PM on his or her insurance policies away from the bearpit ambiance of Prime Minister’s Questions. Here, to be truthful, some members of the committee tried forensic probing on coverage particulars.

But they had been thwarted by a first-rate minister who clearly had no intention of explaining his method to the price of dwelling disaster or migrant crossings in any element. He’ll little doubt conclude “job done”. But little doubt the MPs will really feel they weren’t in a position to do their job very successfully this time.