Mrs Truss held her hands to her face and said ‘Oh my God’ after there was a loud crash – and then the competition was called off. TalkTV said Ms McCann was “fine” but that the channel had been given medical advice not to continue. “We apologize to our viewers and listeners,” she added in a statement. As the debate was interrupted, a message on TalkTV and The Sun’s feed read: “We regret the interruption of this programme.” Truss and Sunak TV debate halted after studio incident – live updates The channel resumed broadcasting shortly afterwards but cut to a different studio with presenter Ian Collins saying there was a “medical issue”. He said: “Everyone is fine so that’s the good news. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are still in the studio right now talking to readers and answering these questions.” A spokeswoman for the Sun confirmed the incident was called off due to a “medical issue”, adding: “We hope to be back on air soon.” But TalkTV later tweeted that Ms McCann, their political editor, was not expected to return to air. Image: Discussion was suspended after the incident Ms McCann was due to appear alongside The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole, but tested positive for COVID-19 earlier today. He tweeted that he was “so proud” of his friend, who he said was “absolutely owning it”. Rishi Sunak also sent his best wishes to the presenter, writing on Twitter: “Good news you’re already on the mend @KateEMcCann. “It was a great conversation and I look forward to seeing you again soon.” And Liz Truss said: “Relieved to hear Kate McCann is fine. I’m really sorry such a good conversation had to end. I look forward to meeting Kate and the rest of the team again soon.” The incident came as Mr Sunak and Ms Truss clashed once again over tax, NHS funding and the economy in their second one-on-one televised debate. The program saw the pair take questions from Sun readers, with a cancer patient asking what could be done to fix the ‘broken’ NHS and a struggling mum wondering if she should go vegetarian because of the rising price of meat. NHS Taxes and the economy caused the most outrage. Mr Sunack said he was “courageous” to introduce a £12bn tax increase to pay for health and social care, telling the audience: “I made sure we got the NHS the funding it needed to help overcome the backlog, to take everyone the care they have. needed and do it as soon as possible. “It wasn’t an easy thing for me, I got a lot of criticism for it, but I think it was the right thing to do because I don’t think we can have an NHS that is ultimately number one in the country. public service priority that is underfunded and unable to provide the care it needs.” Raising taxes is ‘morally wrong’ But Mrs Truss, who has pledged to immediately reverse the rise in national insurance if she becomes prime minister, said it was “morally wrong” to raise taxes during a cost-of-living crisis. He said he was committed to the extra money announced for the NHS, but would fund it through general taxation. He said: “Under my plans, we’ll still be able to start paying off the debt within three years, so it’s affordable. “We didn’t need to increase national insurance to pay, we had that money available in the budget, it was a choice to break our manifesto commitment and increase national insurance.” But Mr Sunak quickly hit back, saying it was “morally wrong” to pile more debt on future generations because “we can’t be bothered to pay it off” now. On how to fund things like public services, he said it was “perfectly reasonable” to ask the biggest companies to pay “a bit more” in corporation tax because they received billions in support to help them stay afloat during the pandemic. But Liz Truss, who wants to scrap the planned 7pm to 9pm corporation tax rise, said Mr Sunack’s policies would make the UK less competitive and push the country into recession. Cost of living Tax has become the clear dividing line between the two Tory leadership contenders, with Mr Sunack advocating prudence with the country’s finances and Ms Truss pledging more than £30bn of tax cuts. Mr Sunak admitted that more support would be needed to help families pay their bills in October, when the energy price cap is set to rise again. But he stopped short of announcing any new aid. Ms Truss, meanwhile, said she would scrap the green levy on energy bills to help struggling households. Read more: Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss trade blows in fiery TV Tory leadership debate What happens now only Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are in the contest? While tonight’s debate was acrimonious at times, it was nowhere near as heated as last night’s showdown on the BBC, where Mr Sunak was accused of “explaining” by Ms Truss’s allies after repeatedly speaking out for her. Tory MPs are said to be concerned the contest is turning “very ugly” after the two sides traded increasingly personal attacks over the weekend. With postal ballots arriving on Tory MPs’ doorsteps by August 5, Mr Sunack needs to perform well in the remaining debates and early defections. Opinion polls and member surveys suggest he is trailing Mrs Truss in the battle to win card-carrying Tory votes, with the Foreign Secretary the betting favorite to be elected Tory leader on September 5. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will take part in a live debate on Sky News on Thursday 4 August at 8pm hosted by Kay Burley. If you would like to join the live studio audience and have the opportunity to ask a question, please apply here.
