BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay takes swipe at Jeremy Hunt in 'car crash' interview

BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay interviewed Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday, May 22, but viewers were left branding the segment a "car crash". The Chancellor of the Exchequer, 57, appeared on the BBC One morning show via video link from a supermarket in North West London and was quizzed by presenter Jon about inflation falling to 2.3% per cent.

Jon pointed out that in a report yesterday, the International Monetary Fund warned that the UK economy could not afford more tax cuts this year. He said: "They’re saying the economy can’t stand it, that you don’t have enough money. Will you bear that in mind in the months ahead?".

Jeremy Hunt was then asked if he was “Kwasi Kwarteng 2.0” as he dropped his clearest hint yet that more tax cuts are on the way before the general election.

Hunt said the government had “a respectful disagreement” with the IMF on tax cuts. Hunt said: "We look around the world and we see that the fastest growing economies in North America and Asia are the ones that tend to have lower taxes."

The chancellor was then compared to his predecessor, who was forced to quit in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget in 2022, as he refused to rule out more reductions in National Insurance on BBC Breakfast this morning. Kay hit back: “So you’re going to cut taxes, aren’t you? You’re going to ignore their warnings and do it before the election."

He added: "Two minutes ago, you told us that Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss made mistakes with the economy, and now you are saying that you’re very prepared by the sounds of it to cut taxes against all the warnings from the IMF. Are you potentially Kwasi Kwarteng 2.0?"

Hunt replied: "No, and I made it very clear that every time we’ve cut taxes it’s because we can afford to do it and we’ve done it without increasing borrowing, and that was the mistake that Kwasi made."

Jon Kay interviews Jeremy Hunt on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, May 22

While the two debated tax cuts, BBC Breakfast viewers wasted no time in taking to social media to react to the BBC Breakfast interview, with one person writing: "Dear Jon Kay. Calling Jeremy Hunt, Kwasi Kwarteng 2.0. How could you ?#BBCBreakfast #GMB", followed by laughing face emojis.

A second stated: "On #BBCBreakfast this morning…After Jeremy Hunt says mistakes were made in the 2022 mini-budget, but plans to defy the IMF and make the same mistakes… Jon Kay asks him 'Aren’t you just Kwasi Kwarteng 2.0?', Well played sir!."

A third simply wrote: "Parody", while another chimed in with: "And Jeremy Hunt has just had a Tory Car crash interview-Another one who is gloating about the inflation figures when they are still not below 2%! #BBCBreakfast #GMB #kayburley #ToriesOut685 #GeneralElectionNow #EnoughIsEnough."

"BBC Breakfast presenter gave #JeremyHunt a bit of a grilling this morning! Thought I’d turned on a different channel.", added another viewer. While another said: "Where is Jeremy Hunt standing? He's obviously gone to his aides and said, "find me somewhere where prices are really cheap for when I talk about inflation, that'll win over the plebs."

BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.