‘Oh my God’: Live UK PM debate pulled off air amid emergency

A loud crash off camera stunned two candidates to replace Boris Johnson as the UK’s next prime minister before TV screens suddenly cut away. Watch the video.

Liz Truss, the leading candidate to replace Boris Johnson as the UK’s next Prime Minister, clutched her face at the sound of a loud crash before a live debate against Rishi Sunak suddenly cut away.

“Oh my God,” she said before the Talk TV broadcast was halted.

PM candidate Liz Truss in shock as debate moderator Kate McCann feints off camera. Picture: Supplied

Viewers were left concerned as a message on the stream said only: “We’re sorry for the disruption to this program. We’re working hard to fix the issue and will return to normal programming soon.”

A short while later, the broadcast began with a new presenter, Ian Collins, saying there had been a “medical issue”.

The original moderator for the debate, Kate McCann, had fainted during the live broadcast.

Talk TV said Ms McCaan is “fine”, but had been given medical advice not to continued.

“We apologise to our viewers and listeners,” it added in a statement.

Moments earlier, Truss, the Foreign Secretary, had stopped speaking mid sentence with a shocked look on her face as the sound of crashing in front of her engulfed the broadcast.

Presenter Kate McCann before collapsing. Picture: Supplied

A stunned Truss left her podium to walk towards where the debate moderator, who had been standing off camera.

The channel, which launched in April and was hosting the debate alongside The Sun newspaper, later confirmed McCann had fainted.

“Although she is fine, the medical advice was that we shouldn’t continue with the debate,” it added in a short statement.

Collins said the candidates were continuing with a question-and-answer session off camera with the small audience present at the debate.

It came after The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole was forced to withdraw as a co-moderator earlier Tuesday after testing positive for Covid-19.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former chancellor to the exchequer Rishi Sunak in the BBC's 'The UK's Next Prime Minister: The Debate'. Picture: AFP

The debate is the second within 24 hours for Sunak and Truss, after the pair squared off Monday night in a feisty BBC debate.

“Good news that you’re already recovering,” Sunak said on Twitter around 45 minutes after the incident, tagging McCann.

“It was a great debate and I look forward to getting grilled by you again shortly!”

Liz Truss added she was looking forward to returning to the debate soon.

“Relieved to hear @KateEMcCann is fine. Really sorry that such a good debate had to end,” she said in a tweet.

The duo are contesting a run-off to be the Conservatives’ new leader, and thereby prime minister, with the party’s approximately 200,000 members set to vote next month.

The winner to replace outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson will be announced on September 5

- With AFP