Sky News Presenter Delivers Brutal Reality Check To Robert Jenrick During Angry On-Air Clash

Robert Jenrick was hit with a brutal reality check during an on-air clash with a Sky News presenter. Reform’s Treasury spokesman went head-to-head with political journalist Fraser Nelson as the pair debated the future of troubled High Street chain Poundland. The iconic store is on the brink of collapse, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. Jenrick has called on the government to step in amid claims Poundland’s American owners have pulled funding and rejected offers from other companies to take it over.

On Sky News on Sunday morning, Nelson and Jenrick got into a heated debate over the financial health of the company. When Nelson said Poundland was losing £1 million a week, Jenrick hit back: “Sales are up like-for-like by almost 6%.” The presenter then told him: “The sales fell by 12%. It sounds like you’re not quite across this.” Jenrick repeated his claim that sales were up by 6%, but Nelson replied: “They fell by 12% last year. It lost a million pounds a week last year.

That’s what we’re talking about.” The Reform MP, who defected from the Tories earlier this year, then accused Nelson of “working very hard” for a Conservative peerage. He said: “You’re using the Tory talking points, but you’re wrong on this front. The stats are all in the public domain. “I actually care about the working people, the 12,000 workers at Poundland. And it doesn’t sound as if you’re very interested in them.” Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy.

Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.