Andy Burnham has responded to Kemi Badenoch after she accused him of dodging "difficult" tasks to protect the UK by taking part in a celebrity edition of Channel 4’s Gogglebox.
The Prime Minister said he would "make no apology" for attempting to "lead with a bit of lightness" after the Tory leader questioned how he found time for the show.
He added he was "proud" to back Stand Up To Cancer, the charity highlighted in Wednesday’s episode.
“That’s the way I go at things and connect with people as best I can, Burnham said.
“And perhaps if a few more people watch it tonight and then support Stand Up To Cancer, that will be job done.”
Mr Burnham is set to become the first prime minister to appear on the show on Friday night.
In a clip released ahead of the show on Friday, Mr Burnham can be seen tearfully reacting to the stories of people diagnosed with cancer, which he described as “utter devastation”.
Sitting on a sofa alongside his close friend, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, he says he “just couldn’t imagine” the ordeal, adding: “The only thing that does give some hope is there is so much incredible research going on, and some of the main cancers of years ago, there’s been such big progress on them.
“But it’s utter devastation isn’t it, if you’re that couple I don’t know how you cope with that.”
Mr Burnham is not the first Labour leader to appear on Gogglebox for Stand Up To Cancer, after Jeremy Corbyn featured on the Channel 4 programme in 2017.
Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, and Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley, have also taken part over the years.
Wednesday’s episode will also feature actor Stanley Tucci, comedian Joe Lycett and the Sugababes.
Speaking to the Press Association earlier, Mrs Badenoch questioned the Prime Minister’s decision to take part in the show while he had other commitments to attend to.
Referring to the government’s advice to the public to stockpile food, water and other essentials to prepare for possible emergencies in the future, she said: “I don’t mind them giving advice.
“I worry that between the Prime Minister being on Gogglebox and then talking about stockpiling canned goods, they’re not actually doing the really difficult stuff that will protect the country.”
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