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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Matthew Dresch

Young Rishi Sunak says he has 'no working class' friends in unearthed clip amid PM bid

A young Rishi Sunak admitted he had "no working class friends" in a cringe-worthy clip which has gone viral on social media.

The video, taken from a 2001 BBC documentary, resurfaced after Mr Sunak announced his candidacy in the leadership race.

The former Chancellor made the embarrassing confession during the BBC series Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl.

His parents were interviewed on the programme about their decision to send their kids to the prestigious boarding school Winchester College.

In the clip, Mr Sunak says: "I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends who are working class... Well, not working class."

The Oxford University graduate claimed he was middle class while also bragging about how one of his best friends studied at Eton.

Rishi Sunak admitted he had no working class pals in the documentary (BBC)

In the BBC clip, he says: "I mix and match and then I go to see kids from an inner city state school and tell them to apply for Oxford and talk to them about people like me.

"And then I shock them at the end of chatting to them for half an hour and tell them that I was at Winchester and one of my best friends is from Eton and whatever. And they are like 'oh, okay'."

Mr Sunak continues: "I am very lucky to have been at these places, it does put me in an elite in society.

Mr Sunak attended the boarding school Winchester College before moving to Oxford University (BBC)

"I always consider myself professional middle class, I don't think being Asian is a defining feature."

The clip left many social media users gobsmacked.

One wrote: "No understanding of reality. How is this man going to deal with the #torycostoflivingcrisis when he doesn’t have a clue!"

Another said: "Imagine having no working class friends. Unreal. I dunno why but I stupidly assumed that they at least knew normal people."

The former Chancellor claimed he was middle class (BBC)

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It comes after Mr Sunak was roundly mocked on social media after he reportedly borrowed a Sainsbury's worker's car to help him look like "a man of the people".

The former Chancellor posed for pictures promoting the Treasury's temporary fuel duty cut using the worker's car earlier this year.

The millionaire arranged a photo opportunity at a Sainsbury's forecourt filling up a Kia Rio - worth about £12,000 - and paid for the petrol himself.

The former Chancellor posed for pictures topping up a Sainsbury's worker's car (SIMON WALKER HM Treasury)

However, he struggled to use his bank card to buy the fuel in an embarrassing moment at the petrol station.

A video clip showed the petrol station worker raising the device to scan the can of Coke Mr Sunak wanted to buy after filling up his tank.

Mr Sunak raised his card to try and pay using the barcode scanner through the plastic screen not realising it was not a card machine.

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