Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat interrupted by his daughter in live Sky News interview
12:55, 07 June 2021
updated: 12:57, 07 June 2021
Kent MP Tom Tugendhat received a surprise visitor during a live broadcast interview- his young daughter.
The Tonbridge and Malling politician was being interviewed by Trevor Phillips on Sky News yesterday about foreign aid when his daughter interrupted.
Watch: Kent MP Tom Tugendhat's live interview is interrupted by his young daughter. The interview begins at 33.12 in. His daughter appears at 39.31.
However Mr Tugendhat, the foreign affairs committee chairman, calmly continued to answer questions about foreign spending and China for around four minutes, with his daughter at his side.
The politician, 47, is one of 30 Conservative MPs hoping to reverse plans to cut foreign aid spending in a vote taking place possibly later today.
Boris Johnson's predecessor Theresa May and former cabinet minister David Davis are also among Conservative rebels backing a move to reverse the decision to cut spending on aid from the legally-enshrined 0.7% of national income. Ashford's Damian Green and North Thanet's Sir Roger Gale are the other Kent MPs planning to rebel.
The Prime Minister slashed aid spending to 0.5% of national income as the coronavirus pandemic hit the economy, but ministers have insisted it is only a temporary measure until the nation’s finances are repaired.
The 0.7% target is written into law and maintaining it was a Tory manifesto commitment in 2019, but cutting it will save around £4 billion.
The rebels are hoping to use an amendment to legislation setting up the Advanced Research and Invention Agency to force the new body to make up the funding to meet the 0.7% goal.
Ahead of the surprise interruption, Mr Phillips asked Mr Tugendhat whether they had the required numbers of MPs to make that happen.
He replied: "We are cautiously optimistic but the reality is that what we are trying to do here is we are trying to to make sure that Britain's foreign foot print, that global Britain really means something and I think that's absolutely vital to making sure we achieve our ambitions and world potential.
"The reality of Britain has a huge opportunity to shape the world at a moment of extraordinary flux and this along with our defence and diplomacy and trade capabilities is part of that, so I'm absolutely committed to making Britain really is great on the international stage."
"The Prime Minister has been as clear as he can possibly be about global Britain being an ambition for all of us so I am delighted that has has expressed support and I hope very much that he will see this this is an opportunity to demonstrate it."
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