“First, we will halve inflation this year to ease the cost of living and give people financial security,” Mr Sunak said in his January speech.
Speaking today, Beth Rigby asked him: “Two of your five pledges – inflation down by the end of the year, the UK out of recession by the end of the year.
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“If you fail on either of them, do you take personal responsibility, you don’t blame the Bank of England, you don’t blame consumers, you don’t blame business. It’s on you personally because it’s your personal pledges?”
The prime minister said: “Of course it’s on me personally. I’m the prime minister. I’m the person who set out those five pledges to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and to stop the boats, and I intend to deliver on those.”
Mr Sunak added: “When it comes to growing the economy, as you mentioned, we’ve already avoided the recession that many predicted. People are upgrading our growth forecasts as we speak.
Image: Rishi Sunak during a visit to Dover this week
“I’m announcing £14bn of investment into the UK, which is going to support thousands of jobs. And just this week I managed to explain to the country how we’re progressing our boats plan, which means that this year, crossings into the UK down by almost a fifth over the first five months of this year.
“So look, the plans are working, but I’m not complacent. There’s work to do and I intend to deliver.”
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3:07
Sunak warns against AI ‘scaremongering’
Asked if it was a “dealbreaker” if he did not deliver for the British public, Mr Sunak said: “It’s absolutely my responsibility. I’ve told the public to hold me accountable.
“They should be able to have politicians who deliver what they say, and that’s what I intend to do.”
Mr Sunak was also asked if – like Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said last week – he was prepared to risk a recession to bring inflation down.
The prime minister did not deny this might need to happen, saying: “I think what the Chancellor was saying is that inflation is the challenge that we must confront.
“Obviously, monetary policy interest rates are a decision for the Bank of England, so it wouldn’t be right for me to comment on that.”
A bombing at a checkpoint in Somalia has killed at least 15 people and wounded 40 others, authorities have said.
Images on social media showed a damaged truck cab on fire and black smoke billowing from the scene in the central city of Beledweyne.
No one has immediately claimed responsibility, including Al Shabaab, which often carries out attacks and controls parts of Somalia.
Police officer Ahmed Aden said the dead included five police officers who fired on the truck in a failed attempt to stop it from ramming into the nearby checkpoint.
Shops nearby were reduced to rubble, with reports of people missing beneath the debris.
It was a truck loaded with explosive devices that forcefully passed through the government-manned checkpoint, and a pick-up vehicle belonging to security personnel was chasing it when it exploded,” said witness Abdikadir Arba, who said he was about 200 metres away and was one of the first responders.
Abdifatah Mohamed Yusuf, director-general of the Hirshabelle Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, confirmed the deaths.
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“Twenty of the wounded have been admitted to Beledweyne hospitals, while another 20 are in critical condition, prompting a request for their airlift to Mogadishu for advanced medical treatment,” he said.
Hirshabelle is a state that includes Beledweyne. It has been the centre of the Somali government’s latest military offensive against extremists from Al Shabaab.
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Al Shabaab has been battling Somalia’s central government for more than a decade, aiming to establish its rule based on strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
A fugitive convicted of attempted murder who evaded police for more than 30 years has been caught.
Greg Lawson, who had been on the run for 32 years, laughed and asked officers “how are you doing?” as he was handcuffed in Huatulco, Mexico.
Lawson, 63, fled Louisiana, in the US, just before a jury found him guilty of shooting a man called Seth Garlington in 1991 – sparking an FBI manhunt in May that year.
In a video shared by FBI News Orelans on X, formerly known as Twitter, Lawson is seen wearing a short-sleeve shirt and camouflage cap.
With police officers in escort, he patted someone on the shoulder while laughing, before another officer turned to handcuff him.
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Three people have been taken to hospital after a large chunk of a motorway in Sweden collapsed in a landslide early on Saturday morning.
Police said at least four cars and a bus skidded off the E6 motorway – connecting Gothenburg in SwedentoNorway’s capital Oslo – near the small town of Stenungsund.
Several buildings were also damaged, including a Burger King restaurant.
The landslide has affected a total area of around 700 x 200 metres, which is roughly equivalent of 21 football pitches.
“The hardest hit parts of the landslide area measure around 150 x 100 metres,” the Gothenburg Rescue Services added in a statement.
“A number of people have been helped out of vehicles in the slide area with the help of fire personnel and a helicopter.”
Image: The motorway was badly damaged. Pic: Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP
Image: The cause of the landslide is not yet clear. Pic: Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP
Rescue services say further landslides cannot be ruled out.
Police say nobody is suspected of a crime, but an investigation has been launched into whether a construction site nearby caused the landslide.
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Image: Rescue services were on the scene in the early hours. Pic: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT News Agency via AP
There has also been heavy rainfall in the area over the past few days.
Swedish news agency TT reported several cars and one truck had fallen into cracks caused by the landslide, while rescue services told public broadcaster SVT all people have been helped out.
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Specially trained dogs were on the scene to ensure no people had been overlooked among the debris.