Rishi Sunak has agreed to be interviewed by Andrew Neil, but his rival Liz Truss has been laughed at.
The former chancellor will be grilled live on Channel 4 at 7.30pm on Friday.
Ms. Truss has been accused of running away from her few and distant interviews ever since she entered the leadership race.
She, along with Mr Sunak, dropped out of a Sky News debate and now appears to be following in the footsteps of Boris Johnsonwho declined to be interviewed by Neil in the 2019 general election.
The prime minister was charged with ‘frightened running’ at the time and sent Mr Sunak to take his place in a live TV debate.
The veteran political journalist interviewed Johnson and Jeremy Hunt earlier in 2019, when they pitted against each other in the latest Tory leadership match.
In that interview, Mr Johnson came under pressure for his comments about Sir Kim Darroch – seen as the final straw in his decision to step down as ambassador to the US.
Channel 4 hosted the first televised debate in this Tory leadership race, with more than two million people tuning in for a series of heart-pounding exchanges between the then-five contenders.
Mr Sunak has pledged to continue selling Channel 4 if he succeeds Mr Johnson as Prime Minister. He said privatization would help the broadcaster compete with streaming giants.
Neil stepped down as chairman of GB News last year and also retired from his primetime show on the network.
The former Sunday Times editor was one of the BBC’s top political broadcasters for many years, presenting This Week, Daily Politics and BBC One’s Sunday Politics, among others.
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