Prime Minister Boris Johnson vomited on his suit and had to get changed ahead of an interview with Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain, according to reports. The Times says aides have reported that Mr Johnson had food poisoning when he was being interviewed on the ITV breakfast show.
They say he had to get changed before the live interview, and had a secret signal in case he needed to end the chat quickly. It was the first time Mr Johnson had appeared on GMB in five years.
The Prime Minister was challenged about the cost of living crisis and was confronted with the story of one pensioner who rides the bus all day to keep warm, using her free bus pass. Mr Johnson said the fact pensioners can have a free bus pass is down to him.
An aide told The Times: "He had food poisoning. He was throwing up and had to change his suit because he got sick on his lapel."
The signal involved a glass of water, the Times reports, with a person who was reportedly present at the interview saying: “If he raised a glass of water, Susanna would say something and they would cut the cameras so he could run out to be sick again.”
Susanna Reid has said 77-year-old Elsie was “disappointed” with Boris Johnson following his response.
Former London mayor Mr Johnson said: “The 24-hour freedom bus pass was actually something that I actually introduced.”
The Prime Minister said there are “plenty of things more that we are doing”, adding: “What we want to do is make sure that we have people who are in particular hardship looked after by their councils, so we are putting much more money into local councils.
“We have the particular payments to help elderly people in particular with the cost of heating.”
Pushed on what Elsie should cut back on, he said: “I don’t want Elsie to have to cut back on anything.”
He added: “The best answer is to help her abate the cost of energy as we are, but also… to make sure there’s a direct cut in her council tax as a result of what we’re doing.”
He also raised the winter fuel allowance and other “measures that we’ve put in place to help people”.
He said the Government is “making sure that we take the steps now to invest in our energy supply” to “ensure that we have the supply for the medium and the long term”.
Speaking to LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr, and describing her interview with the Prime Minister, Ms Reid said: “I’ve spoken to Elsie, since the interview this morning with the Prime Minister, and she says how disappointed she is with what he said.
“Because she says there are people who are even worse off than she is, and there was no answer for them, apart from ‘oh I was the person who was responsible for the bus pass,’ I mean, as if she’s supposed to be grateful.”
Andrew Marr added: “Which is by the way, not entirely accurate itself because it was the London boroughs who brought that in.”
