Tory leadership debate between Sunak and Truss halted after host faints on air

Live TalkTV Conservative leadership debate abruptly halted after host suffers 'medical issue' in studio

The Conservative leadership debate being held on TalkTV/Sun went off-air on Tuesday after host Kate McCann fainted in the studio.

A loud crash was heard when the at first unknown "medical issue" occurred, interrupting Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss as they clashed over taxes, National Health Service funding and the economy in their second live televised debate.

Ms Truss looked worried and could be heard saying “Oh my God” as she walked off the stage.

The programme immediately went off-air, with a message appearing on the screen saying: "We are working hard to fix the issue and will return to normal programming soon.”

A Sun spokeswoman said the debate had been paused because of a medical issue and TalkTV confirmed this, tweeting: “It’s not a security issue and the candidates are OK.”

It was later reported that McCann had fainted in the studio, with TalkTV tweeting that "although she is fine, the medical advice was that we shouldn't continue with the debate".

"We apologise to our viewers and listeners."

Mr Sunak later tweeted to wish McCann well.

“Good news that you’re already recovering, Kate McCann," he said. “It was a great debate and I look forward to getting grilled by you again shortly.”

Ms Truss also has extended her sympathies to McCann, saying on Twitter: “Relieved to hear Kate McCann is fine. Really sorry that such a good debate had to end.

“Look forward to catching up with Kate and the rest of the The Sun TalkTV team again soon.”

McCann, TalkTV’s political editor, was meant to co-host The Sun’s Showdown: The Fight for No10 alongside The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole, but he tested positive for Covid-19 hours before the broadcast was due to begin.

Before the debate was taken off air, the two Tory rivals locked horns again as they fought for the support of their party members, with taxes and the economy causing the most acrimony.

Ms Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said it was “morally wrong” to raise taxes during a crisis in the cost of living, but Mr Sunak quickly shot back, saying it was “morally wrong” to heap more debt on future generations.

“What has happened is that the tax has been raised on families through national insurance so that they are having to pay more money to the Treasury," she said.

“I do think it is morally wrong at this moment when families are struggling to pay for food that we have put up taxes on ordinary people when we said we wouldn’t in our manifesto and when we didn’t need to do so.”

Interjecting, Mr Sunak said: “What’s morally wrong is asking our children and grandchildren to pick up the tab for the bills that we are not prepared to meet.”

The two also clashed over the rise in national insurance, brought in to help pay for the NHS and social care.

The former chancellor said he was brave for introducing the £12 billion ($14.4bn) tax increase to pay for health social care.

“I made sure we got the NHS the funding it needed to help work through the backlogs, get everyone the care they needed and do that as quickly as possible," Mr Sunak said.

“It wasn’t an easy thing for me to do. I got a lot of criticism for it, but I believe it was the right thing to do as I don’t think we can have an NHS, which is ultimately the country’s number one public service priority, that is underfunded and not able to deliver the care it needs.

“And that’s why I think you can be reassured the NHS is safe in my hands because I’ve taken what was a brave decision to get it the support it needed.”

Candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings at Wembley Arena, London. This was the final hustings attended by Tory Party members who will vote for the new leader and next prime minister. EPA

Liz Truss addresses Conservative Party members at Wembley Arena. AP

Mr Sunak puts forward his case to be leader while speaking at Wembley Arena. Bloomberg

Mr Sunak visits his family's old business, Bassett Pharmacy in Southampton, while on the campaign trail. Reuters

Ms Truss speaks to staff at Condimentum Ltd at the Food Enterprise Park in Norwich. Getty Images

A Rishi Sunak supporter at a hustings event in Norfolk. PA

Mr Sunak greets people at a leadership hustings in Manchester. Bloomberg

Ms Truss poses for a selfie with a supporter as she arrives for the event in Manchester. Getty

Rishi Sunak looks through the sights of an anti-tank missile launcher, supplied to Ukraine, during a visit to the Thales Defence System plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP

Liz Truss at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event in Belfast. Getty

Liz Truss meets supporters before a hustings in Perth, Scotland. Getty

Rishi Sunak speaks during a campaign visit to Cluny Castle in Inverurie, Scotland. Getty

Police hold back protesters outside Perth Concert Hall, Scotland, where Conservative leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were speaking. PA

A mural showing the two leadership contestants appears on a wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP

Rishi Sunak during a visit to St John's Wood Synagogue, north London. PA

Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings in Cheltenham. EPA

Rishi Sunak during a hustings event in Cheltenham. Reuters

Liz Truss speaks to scientists during a campaign visit to a life sciences laboratory at Alderley Park in Manchester. PA

Rishi Sunak during a campaign hustings in Darlington, England. Bloomberg

Liz Truss meets party members before she speaks at the Darlington campaign hustings. Getty

Rishi Sunak arrives for the Darlington hustings. Getty

Liz Truss plays pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters

Rishi Sunak looks at a book with Teddy Openshaw, 4, as his father, Henry, looks on after a Conservative leadership campaign event in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Getty

Liz Truss plays table tennis with former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters

Liz Truss with supporters at a campaign event in Solihull, England. Reuters

Rishi Sunak attends a campaign event held by his party in Bexhill, England. Reuters

A protester is removed as Ms Truss speaks during the Conservative Party leadership hustings in Eastbourne. Bloomberg

Mr Sunak speaks at an event in Edinburgh. PA

Ms Truss leaves the hall in Exeter, south-west England, after her speech to a Conservative Party membership hustings. Getty

Mr Sunak speaks at the University of Exeter in south-west England. AP

A supporter of Ms Truss at a Conservative Party hustings in Exeter, south-west England. Getty

Ms Truss at a hustings event at the Pavilion conference centre at Elland Road in Leeds. PA

Mr Sunak in Salisbury watching a screening of the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final between England and Germany at Wembley stadium. England won 2-1 in extra time. PA

Ms Truss before the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final at Wembley stadium in London. AFP

Mr Sunak meets Tory members at Fontwell Park Racecourse. Reuters

Ms Truss at an event in Dereham, Norfolk. AFP

Mr Sunak in Ropley, near Winchester, Hampshire. PA

Ms Truss speaks as Conservative Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat looks on at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event at Biggin Hill Airport. Getty

Ms Truss on the campaign trail in Woodford Green, on the outskirts of London. Reuters

Mr Sunak at a Conservative Party hustings event in Leeds. AFP

Ms Truss speaks at the hustings event in Leeds. AFP

Sunak and Truss-themed souvenirs at a stand during the Leeds hustings event. Reuters

Ms Truss, and her mother, Patricia, arrive for the hustings event. Getty

Ms Truss poses with supporters in Morley, England. Getty

Mr Sunak delivers a speech during a campaign event in Newmarket. AFP

Ms Truss and Jake Berry, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, during a visit to a broadband interchange company in Leeds. PA

Mr Sunak answers questions as he takes part in the hustings in Leeds. AFP

Ms Truss speaks at an event at a private house with members of the Conservative Party in Woodford Green. PA

Ms Truss and Mr Sunak pose for a picture before a BBC leadership debate at Victoria Hall in Hanley. Getty

Ms Truss addresses Mr Sunak during the televised debate. Getty

Mr Sunak, with daughters Krishna and Anushka, and wife Akshata Murthy, during a visit to Vaculug tyre specialists at Gonerby Hill Foot, Grantham. PA

Ms Truss speaks to people while campaigning in Marden. Getty

Ms Truss celebrates after being named, along with Mr Sunak, one of the final two candidates in the race to become the UK's next prime minister. PA

Mr Sunak outside his campaign office in central London. EPA

Ms Truss outside Downing Street in London. Reuters

Rishi Sunak meets Conservative Party members and activists, in Teesport, Redcar. Reuters

Conservative leadership candidates Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Kemi Badenoch, presenter Julie Etchingham, Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt during 'Britain's Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate' in London. EPA

Ms Badenoch arrives at Here East studios in Stratford, east London, before a live television debate. PA

Mr Sunak arrives at a London event to launch his campaign to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister. Reuters

Mr Tugendhat appears on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA

Ms Badenoch, Ms Mordaunt, Mr Sunak, Ms Truss and Mr Tugendhat before the live television debate. PA

Ms Mordaunt arrives for the launch of her Conservative leadership campaign at the Cinnamon Club in Westminster. PA

Ms Truss speaks at the launch event for her campaign to become the next leader of the Tory Party and Britain's prime minister, in London. EPA

Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, one of the candidates who has been knocked out of the race, giving a speech at the Churchill War Rooms. PA

Former leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA

Sajid Javid attending the launch of his campaign to be Conservative Party leader and prime minister, at the Cinnamon Club in London. He has since been knocked out of the contest. PA

Rehman Chishti is interviewed after announcing his bid to become the next prime minister. Mr Chishti is no longer in the race. Getty

Mr Tugendhat speaking at the launch of his campaign. PA

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith arrive for the Truss campaign launch event. Getty

Former leadership candidate Attorney General Suella Braverman at the Churchill War Rooms in central London. PA

Supporters of Mr Sunak wait for his arrival ahead of the campaign launch. Bloomberg

Mr Tugendhat makes a speech at the launch of his campaign. PA

Mr Javid mops his brow while launching his campaign. Getty

Ms Truss leaves for work after her announcement that she would be running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Getty

Ms Truss said she would scrap the national insurance rise and use general taxes to fund the NHS.

“I am committed to the extra money that was announced for the NHS," she said. "It is needed to deal with the backlog and I would fund that money out of general taxation,.

“Under my plans, we will still be able to start paying the debt down within three years, so it is affordable.

"And the fact is whatever Rishi says now, we didn’t need to raise national insurance in order to pay.

"We did have that money available in the budget. It was a choice to break our manifesto commitment and raise national insurance.

“I think it was the wrong choice to make, I spoke out against it at the time in Cabinet. I still remain opposed to it and I’d reverse that rise.”

On “how we fund things” and “the public services that we rely on”, Mr Sunak said it was “entirely reasonable” to ask the largest companies to pay “a bit more” tax because they received taxpayer-funded support during the pandemic.

But Ms Truss, who would scrap the scheduled 19p to 25p increase in corporation tax, said: “I am not talking about cutting corporation tax, I’m talking about not raising corporation tax.

“Under Rishi’s plan we will end up raising corporation tax to the same level it is in France, more than 10 percentage points higher than it is in Ireland.”

Mr Sunak was asked if he had the “guts to stand up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin” by Andrew from London, a co-ordinator for a logistics company at Heathrow Airport.

“Yes, Andrew, is the quick answer and the reason you can believe me is because as chancellor I did a couple of things that demonstrates that strength," he said.

"A year and a half ago I made sure that our armed forces got the largest uplift in funding that they’ve had since the end of the Cold War to make sure that we’re protected against threats like Putin.

“As chancellor I also worked with all my finance ministers around the world to put in place a sanctions package, the likes of which we had never seen, to try and tighten the grip on Putin’s war machine, stop funding going to him.

"And it does require toughness to stand up to him, and it is going to require all of us to go through some difficult times.”