Half an hour after it began, a TV duel to succeed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended due to a medical emergency. Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Minister Liz Truss were debating on Talk TV when a cracking noise was heard. The camera was currently on Truss, who winced and said, “Oh my god,” before the feed cut off.
Talk TV later announced that presenter Kate McCann fainted during the show. She is fine but was advised by the doctor not to continue the debate. The two candidates are doing well, according to TalkTV. Both remained in the studio and would talk to the readers of the “Sun” invited to the debate, it said.
The discussion was hosted by the tabloid The Sun and Talk TV, both owned by media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch. McCann, Talk TV’s political editor, was supposed to be co-hosting alongside The Sun’s Harry Cole, but tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday and pulled out.
Truss regretted the end of the duel and tweeted that she was relieved to hear McCann was fine. Sunak thanked him for the “great debate” and wrote on Twitter that it was good to hear that McCann was recovering. He is looking forward to being “grilled” by her again soon.
Sunak and Truss bickered until the debate died down over the tax burden, support for families struggling with rising living costs and funding for the national health service. The two met in a first TV debate on the BBC on Monday evening.
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