A video from 2001 has resurfaced showing a young Rishi Sunak stating he has 'no working class friends' but only friends from upper class and aristocratic backgrounds. The clip, from a BBC documentary on the middle classes, has gone viral following Sunak's announcement of his candidacy for the Conservative Party leadership.
In the documentary 'Middle Classes: Their Rise & Sprawl', then 21-year-old Sunak told the interviewer: 'I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends, who are, you know, working class, but ...well, not working class.' He added that he mixes with people from different backgrounds and speaks to inner city state school students about applying to Oxford, often surprising them by revealing his own education at Winchester College and his friendship with someone from Eton.
The clip has been widely mocked on social media, with one user asking Sunak if he has 'any working class friends yet' and suggesting he 'rent a few' for his leadership campaign. Another commented on his manner of speaking, saying 'the real eyebrow raiser' is the way he makes the reply, while a third noted that saying the words 'working class' seemed to give him a nervous tick.
Sunak, 42, is one of nine candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. He released a campaign video on Friday outlining his plans and discussing his family's arrival in Britain and his own upbringing.
