Prime Minister takes questions and visits seafood factory on coastal visit

The Prime Minister visited a seafood factory and held a question-and-answer session in a cafe on a visit to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex.

Rishi Sunak, who travelled by car, was introduced by Southend West MP Anna Firth at the start of the session at the cafe in the high street on Monday.

Home Secretary James Cleverly was in the audience, along with members of the public.

Mr Sunak started by paying tribute to the late Southend West MP Sir David Amess, who was stabbed to death while holding a constituency surgery in 2021.

He then made introductory remarks about immigration, saying it was “one of my priorities to stop the boats”.

“We want to tackle this issue because it’s fundamentally unfair,” he said.

“It’s about fairness and our country is based on fairness.

“We’re a people that believe in paying our fair share, waiting our turn, and actually, when people come here illegally they undermine that sense of fairness which is so central to our national character.”

Mr Sunak then fielded questions from audience members at the cafe, before moving on to a nearby restaurant where he answered questions from reporters.

Afterwards he walked along a path beside the Thames Estuary to a seafood factory, on a bitterly cold morning, a short distance away.

He spoke to workers at cockle and whelk processor Osborne’s and posed for selfies.

Police outriders accompanied his chauffeur-driven car as he left the seafront, having concluded his visit by late morning.