By Ben Kerrigan-
Former England footballer Gary Neville has been attacked by prime minister Rushi Sunak, after he claimed workers in the UK were being exploited during a World Cup broadcast.
The former Manchester United and England defender made the comments during ITV’s coverage of Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar, saying that the UK government was “demonising” striking rail and health workers, adding that its something that should never be accepted.
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Sunak was quick to attack the claims and ask the footballer to stay in his lane.
The prime minister was speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Latvia for a gathering of leaders from Joint Expeditionary Force countries, the prime minister told broadcasters: “I don’t think that’s right at all.”
The former Manchester United and England defender made the comments during ITV’s coverage of Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar, saying that the UK government was “demonising” striking rail and health workers.
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The former Manchester star said workers in Qatar should not have been paid an “absolute pittance” to help construct the World Cup stadia.
“That shouldn’t happen here with the wealth that exists – but it shouldn’t happen in our country where our nurses are having to fight for an extra pound or an extra two pound,” he added.
Neville was working as a pundit for ITV when he made the comparison of the plight of workers involved in the World Cup in Qatar with the issues faced by NHS nurses.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “It is clearly not a legitimate or appropriate comparison in any way.”
Tory MP Simon Clarke said it was “grotesque” for the high-profile Labour backer to conflate workers rights in Qatar with the UK, while former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said ITV should have cut him off.
Tory MP Lee Anderson said: “It’s a classic case of another champagne socialist who’s got more money than sense. ITV should sack him.” Responding to the MP, Neville tweeted: “I’m glad you’re p****d off! The biggest set of charlatans to ever be in power!
Speaking during a visit to Latvia for a gathering of leaders from Joint Expeditionary Force countries, the prime minister told broadcasters: “I don’t think that’s right at all.”
He went on: “If you look at our track record and my track record, as chancellor, I’ve always done everything I can to support our NHS and indeed, the wonderful people who work in it.
“I grew up in an NHS family. I spent my life working in my mum’s pharmacy, when I was younger. And if you look at what we did during Covid, we provided enormous support to the frontline at a time, when it comes to pay, when everyone else in the public sector experienced a pay freeze.”
Football
Speaking earlier to the Daily Mail, which accompanied Sunak to Latvia, the prime minister said: “I think when most people are tuning in to watch Gary Neville they want to hear about the football and watch the football. They don’t want to discuss politics.”
“I grew up in an NHS family. I spent my life working in my mum’s pharmacy, when I was younger. And if you look at what we did during Covid, we provided enormous support to the frontline at a time, when it comes to pay, when everyone else in the public sector experienced a pay freeze.
Ahead of Sunday’s final, which saw Argentina beat France on penalties, Neville was working as a pundit for ITV when he appeared to compare the plight of workers involved in the World Cup in Qatar with the issues faced by NHS nurses.
Workers Right Abuses
When asked about Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, Neville said he detests workers’ rights abuses and does not agree with the idea of people “not being paid enough money working in poor conditions”, adding it is an issue that can never be accepted in “this region or any region”.
Referring to workers’ rights in the UK, he continued: “We can’t have people being paid a pittance to work, we can’t have people in accommodation which is unsavoury and disgusting, we can’t have that.
“It shouldn’t happen with the wealth that exists [in Qatar] and it shouldn’t happen in our country that our nurses are having to fight for an extra pound or two pounds.”
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “It is clearly not a legitimate or appropriate comparison in any way.”
Rishi Sunak told the Daily Mail: “I think when most people are tuning in to watch Gary Neville they want to hear about the football and watch the football. They don’t want to discuss politics.”
Tory MP Simon Clarke said on Twitter: “Quite apart from the fact every nurse is receiving a pay rise of £1400, to compare workers’ rights in Qatar with the UK is grotesque.”
Apologist
Columnist Nick Timothy tweeted: “Gary Neville – paid apologist for Qatar – used his ITV punditry berth to make a party political speech unchallenged and make offensive comparisons between Qatar and Britain on workers’ rights.
“The hypocrisy is no surprise but the failure of ITV to pre-empt this is unacceptable”.
Another Conservative MP, Lee Anderson, said in a tweet: “Another party political broadcast by a millionaire. Looks like ITV is on my banned list now. Talk about football Gary and keep your nose out of politics. You don’t know what you’re talking about”.
Mr Neville, a Labour supporter, responded: “I’m glad you’re p****d off! The biggest set of charlatans to ever be in power!”
Qatar has been accused of human rights abuses and has faced heavy criticism over its anti-LGBT+ laws and attitudes.
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