Dominic Raab has clashed with the BBC’s Charlie Stayt over the price of petrol, asking the Breakfast presenter: “I’m just checking how in touch you are.”
During a tetchy interview on Friday morning, Stayt asked the deputy prime minister how much a litre of diesel costs.
Raab said that he buys unleaded, and the last time he visited a petrol station it was 1.65-1.67 per litre.
But, Stayt said that it had “gone up” recently, adding: “What’s happening in the real world is that people try and deal with things and those pump prices, as you pass them, they go up by the day.”
Raab then asked Stayt: “Well you tell me, what’s a litre of unleaded today?
The BBC presenter said that the highest price he had seen for diesel recently was 1.99 per litre at a service station on the M6.
Raab pressed again on the price of unleaded: “I’m just checking how in touch you are, because last time I looked it was 165-167.”
Stayt said that 168 was the latest price that he had seen for unleaded.
The deputy prime minister replied: “I’m just making the point that I’m actually right about the cost of a litre of unleaded.”
Stayt hit back: “I’m not the one who needs to be making decisions that will affect people’s lives, which is why there is a justification asking you and your government about the things you’re doing.”