Rishi Sunak spotted with hole in shoe at Tory hustings in Darlington

Rishi Sunak appeared at a Tory leadership debate well-suited but not so much well-booted.

The Richmond MP was at the North East's only Conservative leadership hustings on Tuesday (9 August) when an eagle-eyed photographer spotted he had a small hole in the sole of his left shoe and a rip in the side.

Mr Sunak is married to the daughter of a billionaire, Akshata Murthy.

The pair have a joint £730 million fortune, putting them at number 222 on the Sunday Times Rich List, which ranks Britain's 1,000 richest people.

In response to voters suggesting he was out of touch due to his wealth, Mr Sunak last week told a Sky News presenter he was wearing "the same suit and the same shoes" as during a furlough press conference.

It was not the first time Mr Sunak’s wealth has come under fire.

The politician was previously criticised after he mentioned, in an unearthed 2001 interview with the BBC, that he had “no working class friends".

Last week, a video also emerged of him boasting about stripping cash from "deprived urban areas" and pumping funds into wealthier areas.

He was caught on video in Tunbridge Wells bragging about rewriting Treasury formulas in guidelines known as the "Green Book" so he could inject taxpayers' money into more affluent towns. 

His rival Liz Truss also sparked fury after unveiling plans to pay dedicated public sector workers who lived in poor areas less, though she quickly made a U-turn.

Speaking in Darlington on Tuesday, Mr Sunak said: “In our country we judge people, not by their bank account, we judge them by their character and their actions.”

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