Rishi Sunak this evening claimed that the furore over his wife's tax status made him MORE suitable to be Prime Minister - as he had learned from it.
In a lively and often tense interview with veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil, he was accused of being "all over the place" on tax and challenged over growing NHS waiting lists.
Mr Sunak's rival Liz Truss declined an invite to be grilled by Mr Neil, but he closed the show pointedly stating: "That invitation is still open."
Earlier this year it emerged that Mr Sunak's wife Akshata Murty could have avoided up to £20 million in UK tax by being non-domiciled - a revelation that sparked a huge backlash against the then-Chancellor.
Reflecting on the non-dom tax controversy, Mr Sunak said: "These things, as I discovered and learned myself, are difficult when it comes to your family - but I've learned from that experience.
"I'm confident that that experience has actually made me better suited to now lead."
But he pointed out: “I am the one running for office, not my wife."
Mr Sunak admitted it was "unacceptable" that 300,000 people had been waiting for NHS treatment for more than a year, saying: "I left the government and as Prime Minister I want to bring grip to this problem."
He said he would "call out poor leadership in the NHS" and set up hubs for elective surgery - a move he said would streamline the treatment process.
He was challenged over his decision to raise National Insurance, change his view on windfall taxes and his U-turn over VAT on energy bills.
"It's not just bad judgement, it's lack of consistency," observed Mr Neil, adding: "You just seem to be all over the place."
Mr Sunak said: " Energy bills are now forecast to be a few hundred pounds higher than we estimated, so it's reasonable to offer a bit more support."
He admitted that the wealthy are disproportionately aided, but added: "This is pretty much the only lever left."
Re-iterating his economic policy, the candidate said: "If we borrow tens of billions of pounds and pump that into the economy, that causes inflation. It would be the easiest thing in the world and for me to say I don't want to do these difficult things, I'd like to do these nice things...
"I genuinely believe this the the thing we should do."
Mr Sunak said rival Liz Truss's plans for vast tax cuts would "put fuel on the fire" of the inflation problem and create a "sugar rush boom".
He also addressed an awkward clip from 2001 showing a young Mr Sunak saying he did not have any working class friends.
He said: "We all say silly things when we're students, but I've talked about my background, my family were welcomed here as migrants.
"I grew up working in my mum's pharmacy...and you don't do that unless you actually interact with lots of people."
The former Chancellor agreed to be interviewed by the veteran broadcaster, even though his rival - who polls suggest is going to be the next PM - decided not to.
Channel 4 said Ms Truss had so far declined earlier this week.
Asked if she will be watching, Ms Truss said she will be celebrating her wedding anniversary.
She told reporters: "It's my wedding anniversary today. So I'll be celebrating 22 years of being married to my husband."
Last night Mr Sunak delivered a scathing verdict on a Tory campaign to keep Boris Johnson in Downing Street - after he was confronted by an angry party member accusing him of disloyalty.
The former Chancellor, whose departure marked the start of a mass walkout which ultimately brought down Mr Johnson, said the PM had lost the support of his own MPs.
More than 14,000 Tories have backed a campaign for the outgoing leader to be included on the ballot in the leadership contest.
Meanwhile allies of Mr Johnson believe he is already plotting a route back to power.
Mr Sunak has come under fire during the Tory fallout over the manner of the PM's departure, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace this morning taking a swipe at ministers who walked out.
At a hustings hosted by LBC last night, an audience member reminded Mr Sunak: "He's the man that made you a senior politician" and accused him of being on "another planet".
But Mr Sunak was uncompromising - despite applause for the PM from the audience - stating: "I'd say to them that I think close to 60 people resigned in Parliament and it's incumbent on the Prime Minister to have the confidence of the parliamentary party, and that wasn't there at the end.
"So whether he's on the ballot or not, ultimately you need to be able to command the confidence of your MPs in Parliament, and we got to a point where close to 60 of them had resigned from Government."
