Rishi Sunak: What we learned from PM's BBC radio grilling

The last time a prime minister did back-to-back interviews on BBC local radio, it proved quite the game-changer. Last September, Liz Truss had her feet held to the fire about mortgage fees, tax cuts and energy bills. The tough questions and shaky answers came just days after her mini-budget had sparked economic turmoil. The following month, she resigned.

Today, it was the turn of Rishi Sunak to talk to our presenters across England, from Manchester to Cornwall. Here are the top takeaways.

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, the prime minister said the government was "urgently working" on ways to stop attacks by American bully XL dogs in the wake of a fatal incident in Staffordshire.

"We're working with experts to define the breed of the dog," he said.

He added that police and experts were in discussions and reiterated plans to ban the breed by the end of the year. "We're taking action to try to stop these attacks and protect the public," he told presenter Rakeem Omar.

Mr Sunak was asked by BBC Radio Manchester's Anna Jameson six times if he would be scrapping the second phase of the HS2 rail project between Birmingham and Manchester.

First up, he answered with: "We've got spades in the ground with phase one and we're getting on with delivering it".

Anna took a different tack, responding: "We're straight-talking people in the North - it's a yes or a no. Are you scrapping the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester?"

The PM replied: "Like I said, I'm not speculating on future things... The government is always making sure we get value for money out of everything we do."

Speaking to Radio WM, Mr Sunak also refused to commit to building phase two, repeating that there were "spades in the ground" for the first part of the line.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street has previously said Sunak was wrong not to commit to building the rail line connecting Birmingham and Manchester.

First up, the prime minister spoke to BBC Radio York's Joanita Musisi, about his constituency of Richmond.

He said he was committed to "investing in local transport that people use every day, making sure that potholes are filled, making sure our bus services are running, particularly in rural areas like mine".

Radio WM's Rakeem Omar, like Joanita, asked whether the HS2 line will go from Birmingham to Manchester. Rishi Sunak avoided a direct answer and talked about levelling up, spreading opportunities across the country, and - you guessed it - that the government is making sure roads are free of potholes.

When asked about HS2 on BBC Radio Berkshire, he again stressed the need to fix potholes and mentioned the £20m being invested in Reading's local transport.

After being played a clip on BBC Three Counties Radio of a tearful listener who was upset at "all the noise and disruption" caused by the line being built, Sunak said he understood how "frustrating" it had been.

But it didn't take long before potholes came up again.

"It's got to be people everywhere across the county benefit from the improvements and investment we're making, whether its local bus services in rural areas, whether its fixing pot holes..." he added.

Asked how he would be getting to Manchester for the Conservative Party conference this weekend, Mr Sunak said he'd probably be driving due to train strikes which he called "very disappointing... at a time when people are trying to just get around and do their regular business".

"Strikes are very disruptive on people and actually, that's why we've taken action recently to pass new laws in Parliament that will ensure that you know, when people do strike, which is obviously their right, that we can put in place minimum levels of service," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

Asked if he would catch the train if there was a HS2 line in place to the city, he said: "I would be catching the train on Saturday if there weren't strikes."

Radio WM asked the PM why Birmingham City Council was "broke"?

The authority declared itself essentially bankrupt earlier this month in part over a £760m equal pay bill.

Mr Sunak said the council had "massively mismanaged its finances" - and pointed out it was a Labour-run authority.

"The whole point of councils is they are devolved. People of Birmingham got a glimpse of what it is like when Labour is in charge," he said.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner recently told the Commons that the government had "stripped away" the council's reserves through "some of the most severe cuts of the last 13 years".

This caused the council to be "pushed over the edge" by the equal pay claim, she said.

Three Counties Radio asked the self-confessed Star Wars fan which character he would be, after some of the franchise's sequels were filmed in Buckinghamshire's Pinewood studio.

"Would you say you're more Skywalker, Han Solo or actually you're Darth Vader?", Babs Michel probed.

"I'll leave others to come to their conclusion," Mr Sunak said.

"Who wouldn't love to go on the Millennium Falcon and have that be your ship, so I would love to be able to do that, but then again also piloting an X-wing has probably been one of my life's bucket list things that I would want to do.

"So if you could have a chat with the people who filmed the movies there, if they could get me a cameo in an X-wing and I would get to say 'Red 7 standing by' before we take down the Death Star, that would make me a very happy man, that has always been my childhood dream."

The X-wing is a Rebel Alliance starfighter. Red Seven was the callsign of the seventh member of Red Squadron.