A government minister and North East MP was left speechless after fielding questions on the Government’s work on poverty on live TV.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Simon Clarke, the newly appointed Levelling Up minister, appeared on breakfast TV and radio shows on Thursday morning to answer questions on behalf of the government.

Mr Clarke discussed emergency energy support packages, windfall taxes and fracking but responded with silence when one question came about the Government’s work on poverty.

Read more: North East MP outlines how government will support households in energy crisis

BBC Breakfast presenter Charlie Stayt asked Mr Clarke: “If you look at a couple of the markers for levelling up, which frankly, a lot of people don’t really understand the principal of. Say you look at child poverty or in-work poverty which of those markers have the Tories, in 12 years, been successful in helping?”

But Mr Clarke failed to respond to Mr Stayt’s question, which led to the presenter wondering whether there were audio issues.

The awkward exchange was shared on social media and has gone viral, with some saying Mr Clarke became the first minister 'to answer a question correctly'.

But when Mr Stayt revisited the question later in the interview, Mr Clarke said: “The government is very clear about our mission which is to provide new opportunities, new jobs and new found sense of pride and purpose in communities which haven’t had that for too long.

“I think that the work of my department, which sits at the heart of the government’s efforts in this space, is to provide the shot in the arm to the country outside London and the greater south east which has had a long period where it has lagged all indices of trend growth in a way which is leading to lower life chances in those communities.

“We have to do more to ensure the great northern and midland towns and cities get a fair crack of the whip.”

The Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland said the economy will suffer “enormous damage” if the Government fails to control surging energy prices.

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