UK Sunac criticized for asking homeless man if he ‘works in business’ | Daily News Byte

LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism for being out of touch with ordinary people on Saturday when he asked a homeless man at a charity if he “worked in business” and wanted to get into the finance industry.

Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs banker and one of Britain’s richest men, was serving breakfast at a homeless shelter in London on Friday when he started chatting with a man who identified himself as Dean.

“Do you work in business?” the prime minister asks the man at one point during the conversation, as he offers him a plate of sausage, toast and eggs.

“No, I’m homeless. I’m actually a homeless person,” the man replies.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, posted a clip of the exchange on Twitter, calling it “exciting”, while another Labor lawmaker, Bill Esterson, called Sunak “out of touch”.

His ascension to the British Premiership in October made Sunak the richest occupant of No. 10 Downing Street at a time when the country is struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

The prime minister made surprise phone calls this week to British diplomats and military personnel around the world to wish them Christmas, his office said on Friday.

His awkward exchange with the homeless man began when the man asked Sunak if he was “fixing the economy”.

When the homeless man then says he’s interested in business and finance, Sunak replies that he also used to work in finance, before asking: “Is that something you want to get into?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Dean says. “But, I don’t know, I want to get through Christmas first.”

Reported by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by David Holmes

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.