The next question put to Sunak asks whether former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be a part of the party's election campaign.

"I want every Conservative who shares the vision that I do to be part of that campaign, Sunak replies.

He adds that the Conservative party is "a broad church".

Sunak says the election campaign is not Tory against Tory. He says the choice is between him and Keir Starmer as well as the future versus the past.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Political Editor Chris Mason asks the prime minister if he believes the country would be less safe under a Starmer leadership - and if this is the beginning of an election argument that says: "Be careful what you wish for. Better the devil you know".

"In a word, yes," Sunak replies, to laughter.

The PM again turns again to the theme of his speech, saying he believes the next few years will be the "most dangerous" for the country in a long time - and also the most transformative.

Robert Peston of ITV pointedly asks Rishi Sunak: "Why on Earth shouldn't voters look at the recent past as a guide to the future under a Tory government?"

Sunak answers by setting what he says is the context of his tenure. The global shocks of the pandemic and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East didn't just happen to the UK, he says.

The world is becoming a more dangerous place, he adds, before saying to voters that the question they should be asking themselves is about who they can trust to have the bold ideas to deliver a secure future.

His track record over the last 18 months - including tax cuts and investing in key industries - shows that he believes he is the answer, he tells Peston.

Ben Riley-Smith of the Daily Telegraph asks the PM if he will rule out calling a general election in July.

Sunak repeats his line that his "working assumption" is that the election will be in the second half of the year.

He says when the election campaign comes, he'll be happy to debate Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer "as many times as he would like".

Sunak is taking questions from the media.

The first question is about security and defence spending being lower now than when the Conservatives took power.

Sunak says the country was in a poor financial state when the Tories came in to power 14 years ago. He says they had managed to maintain defence spending at 2% of GDP for a decade.

He says that Labour have not been able to make the same commitments on future spending as he has.

Image source, Getty Images

Sunak says he refuses to accept the "doomsterism and cynical narrative of decline" that Labour hope will "depress people" into voting for them.

He pledges to help people fulfil their ambitions and to build the world-class education system that gives children the skills they need to succeed, "no matter where they started in life".

And with that he ends his speech, opening the floor to questions from the press.

Sunak is returning again to the topic of new technologies, and how his government would like to see the "fearful" word that all families dread hearing - "cancer" - disappear.

We know we can prevent most lung cancers by stopping smoking, Sunak says, before redirecting attention to the fact that his government remains committed to creating a "smoke-free generation".

He highlights that the UK is responsible for training top experts, from doctors to top biotech businesses.

He cites the UK's post-Brexit successes in trialling new drugs as being just one example of potential generational breakthroughs to come.

"Today I've set out my vision of how Britain can be success in one of the most dangerous but also transformational eras," he adds.

Moving on to education, Sunak says his plan is to build a system that is "truly world-class".

He says that there will be a "tearing down of barriers" between technological and academic advancement.

He says, "unapologetically" that every single child should leave school literate and numerate and that maths is essential.

Sunak says he will end "rip-off" degrees and expand apprenticeships.

He adds that there will be funding for people to retrain at every stage of their life, saying: "Education won't stop when you walk of out of the school gates."

Sunak says he rejects the "ideological zeal" of those who want the UK to adopt policies that go further and faster on net zero than any other country - "no matter what the cost of disruption" to people's lives.

He says Labour "act like a pressure group," not a "would-be government".

He adds that the Conservatives would lead the country to net zero in a "serious" and "hard-headed" way, prioritising energy and financial security.

Referring to the state of the economy, Sunak says his government is in a position to protect the UK from the danger of a more unstable world by "giving you financial security".

He discusses steps his government has taken to help "people struggling to make ends meet," referring to policies he's brought forward to help people with rising energy bills and mortgage costs.

"I hope I've shown that the government I lead will always be there for you," he says.

Sunak turns now to the government's immigration plans, saying the global displacement of millions of people is a new challenge of our age.

He says the UK "can and will protect" against illegal migration, adding that this is why the Conservatives are "pioneering" the Rwanda scheme.

The scheme will be a deterrent and save thousands of lives, he says.

He says there may be "flashpoints" ahead with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which the UK is a party.

Sunak asks if Labour's strategy is to "depress their way to victory," adding that it won't work as the UK is "a nation of optimists".

He says keeping the country safe is his highest priority.

Sunak says he has presented plans to increase spending on national security. Labour refuses to match the pledge, he says.

He also says that Labour voted against a nuclear deterrent, adding: "Either you believe the world is more dangerous or you don't."

Sunak says that he knows people are feeling "anxious and uncertain" and that their sense of confidence and pride in the country "has been knocked".

The prime minister says that he "cannot accept" Labour’s idea that people's "worries" are only due to 14 years of Conservative government and that changing the people in office will make problems “magically disappear”.

He says Conservative governments have made progress in the most difficult conditions faced by any government since the World War Two.

Chris Mason
Political editor

This is a canter around the whole paddock of politics and public policy from Rishi Sunak.

Yes there is plenty about international security, but plenty more too.

In essence the prime minister is trying to portray himself as the personification of the future.

The 44 year old against the 60 something Labour leader.

But it is also telling that he is now starting to publicly frame himself as the underdog, to acknowledge out loud that he might lose.

I am struck by a sentence he just uttered.

Sunak said of Labour "maybe they can depress their way to victory".

An acknowledgement he might lose, but an attempt to portray himself as someone excited about the future and willing to embrace it.

Sunak says Britons should feel confidence and pride about their country, before landing on the point that the country "stands at a crossroads".

Because of technology and geopolitical changes, "almost every aspect of our lives is going to change". We need to realise the opportunities that will determine whether or not Britain will succeed or not, he says.

The prime minister then turns his attention to Labour. He claims that despite having 14 years to think about the future, the party has "nothing to say about it".

Labour has no plan for the border, energy sector or economy either, Sunak says.

"Starmer's gone from embracing Corbyn to taking in Natalie Elphicke, the Tory MP who defected to Starmer's party last week.

Sunak says now it's "no wonder" Brexit Britain has leaped above some G7 countries to become the world's fourth-biggest exporter.

He says the UK invents and produces new products the "world wants to buy".

He says the more the UK exports, the more wealth will be generated across the country.

The world has been transformed by technological progress, Sunak says, adding that this change can be seen "all around us".

Sunak says British companies and workers are pioneering offshore wind and exporting it around the world.

He also speaks about opportunities in healthcare, "giving people longer and healthier lives".

Sunak says that while this new, AI-connected world can be dangerous, it also offers possibilities.

He says Brexit has given the UK the opportunity to go further and that the UK has jumped above other G7 countries in exports.

Sunak lists culture and sports as successful British products around the world. People are watching British content around the world, he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Sunak says people’s "sense of insecurity" is heightened by concerns over new technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

He points to an analysis from the International Monetary Fund, suggesting AI is set to affect nearly 40% of all jobs.

He also talks about children being exposed to “bullying, sexualised content or even self-harm online”.

Sunak says the public want someone leading the country who “understands these dangers”.

He adds that the “an opportunity for human progress” presented by AI could surpass the Industrial Revolution in its impact.

Image source, UK Pool

Sunak says extremists are exploiting global conflicts to divide us.

"People are abusing our liberal democratic values, " he says.

He turns to people's sense of financial insecurity. He says the UK has been pounded by a series of once-in-a-generation shocks - amounting to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

We need to meet this time of instability with strength, he says.

Rishi Sunak asks which party has a clear plan to deliver a safe future, before outlining the threats posed to the UK by the Iranian and Russian regimes.

Sunak goes on to say that Russia's war in Ukraine has taken us closer to nuclear escalation than any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

He adds that those threats, though outside Britain's borders, also impact the UK. He says the ongoing attacks on the Red Sea have impacted supply chains.

Here at home, he adds, China has targeted our MPs and Russia has poisoned people, hinting at the Salisbury Novichok poisoning.

Illegal immigration, the prime minister says, is placing a strain on our system.

"This problem is only going to grow."