Sunak embarked on heroic flight to prevent PM from ‘sleepwalking ‘ into another lockdown

The pair are now embarking on the campaign trail to encourage the backing of more Tory members who will decide who will take on the role of Prime Minister and leader of the party.

Speaking on LBC Radio, the MP for Richmond told the audience how he saved the country from going into yet another lockdown ahead of the Christmas period in 2021.

The spread of the Omicron variant put the country and therefore the economy once again at risk as the Government was “hours away” from locking down the country.

According to Mr Sunak, he flew back from a Government job in the United States to prevent his party from holding the press conference.

Much of the former Chancellor’s campaign is his experience of working for the Treasury during the unique economic challenges that the Government faced during Covid.

He also added that no lockdown measures or restrictions were put in place for that period as he had “won” the argument, which showed he is “prepared to push hard and fight for the things that I believe in even when that’s difficult”.

On December 16, the Prime Minister announced that there were no restrictions being implemented for the Christmas period and instead advised Brits to exercise “caution” and to limit contacts.

Speaking to Andrew Marr, Rishi Sunak said: “What I did in December was fly back from a Government trip I was on overseas.

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Multiple MPs have come out in support of Mr Sunak and they have used his actions and decisions during the pandemic as a reason to back the former Chancellor.

Andrew Bridgen, the MP for North West Leicestershire, said: “When Britain was facing the uncertainty of a global pandemic Rishi was there to ensure people in my constituency managed, he was there to support local businesses, and he was there to ensure our hospitality sector survived.

“He was there for the residents in North West Leicestershire.”