No pneumonia yet, jokes Sunak after soggy speech

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met veterans at a community breakfast in Northallerton

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joked that he avoided becoming ill after giving a rain-soaked speech outside 10 Downing Street, while taking part in a community breakfast in his constituency.

Mr Sunak announced a General Election would take place on 4 July, delivering the statement in the pouring rain on Wednesday.

On Saturday morning, Mr Sunak told veterans meeting in a pub in his Richmond constituency that the outdoor speech was "the right thing to do... come rain or shine", despite getting visibly soaked.

"But no pneumonia yet, my suit on the other hand... I'm not quite sure what state it will be in when I get back down to London," he said.

Mr Sunak joked about avoiding becoming ill after delivering a speech in the pouring rain

Mr Sunak was speaking to ex-servicemen and women during a breakfast meeting at a Wetherspoons in Northallerton.

He said he was "pumped up" and enjoying himself two days into the campaign despuite the rain putting a damper on the launch.

"That's our tradition, the prime minister, in the big moments, they call the election and they go out there," he said.

Earlier in the week, his tour included a visit to the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, which invited undesirable "sinking ship" comparisons with his party's fortunes, as well as a brewery in Wales where he made a footballing gaffe about the Euros.

Meanwhile, Labour committed to taking part in two televised election debates with Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Sunak.

The Labour leader was in Stafford on Saturday morning and said the party could lower the voting age to 16, if it got into power.

"If you serve in your armed forces you ought to be able to vote," he added.

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