The former chancellor and Tory leadership candidate told LBC that the UK was “hours away from a press conference” announcing the measures due to the spread of the Omicron variant. But he said he “fought very hard against the system” to stop the lockdown being introduced. Politics Hub: Truss extends lead over Sunak as Tories join As 2021 drew to a close, Omicron became the dominant variant in the country and cases rose rapidly, with Boris Johnson advising people to be “careful” about gathering in the run up to Christmas and health officials urging the public to limit their contacts. Rumors were rife that the government would impose new restrictions as companies – especially in the hospitality sector – called for more support as people canceled events. But on December 16, Mr Johnson said there was no order to cancel gatherings and ruled out any “secret” lockdown. On the same day, the Treasury Department confirmed that Mr Sunak would cut short a trip – reportedly by a day – to return from the US to hold talks with business leaders about the impact of the variant. It followed questions about his whereabouts as cases mounted, with Labor telling him to “leave Hollywood and get back to reality”. During an interview tonight with Andrew Marr, Mr Sunak said: “What I did in December was fly back from a government trip I was overseas. “And I came back to this country to stop us sleepwalking into a national lockdown because we were hours away from a press conference that was going to lock this country down again because of Omicron.” He added: “I came back and fought very hard against the system because I thought it would be wrong for this country, with all the damage it would have done to businesses, to children’s education, to people’s lives.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:47 Sunak says there will be no further support Mr Sunak made the remarks a day after he reached the bottom two in the Conservative leadership contest, with Liz Truss on the ballot. The Foreign Secretary is currently leading the race, according to a poll of Tory Party members, who will decide their next leader and incoming prime minister over the next six weeks. Mr Sunak said he was happy to have “won” the argument last year and said it should give voters confidence that he is “ready to push hard and fight for the things I believe in even when it’s hard”.
