Netflix, hoodies and Emily in Paris: What Akshata Murthy’s speech revealed about Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, was the prime minister’s surprise warm-up act at the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday, delivering a personal speech dedicated to his ambition, drive - and love for Netflix shows.

The heiress, fashion designer and venture capitalist revealed that the PM loves a “good rom-com - the cheesier the better”, and joked that Brits would be “relieved” to hear the Netflix show Emily in Paris was “not informing his outlook on the EU”.

Her address began by sharing that that the PM had “no idea” what she was going to say and in a gushing tribute, she described the Tory leader as her “best friend”.

“Yes, you are absolutely right, I am not on the agenda for today. A bit of a surprise addition shall we say and a surprise for my husband too, who has no idea what I am going to say,” she told the crowd in Manchester.

“As you’d expect, there’s been a lot about Rishi in the media. About who he is, what he likes, what he doesn’t like, what motivates him and so forth. Now some of it is accurate, I’m afraid he does love a good rom-com - the cheesier the better even.

“And some of it is not so true, so you’ll be relieved to hear that episodes of Emily in Paris are not informing his outlook on the EU.”

She went on to say that his “smart suits” and “his love for hoodies” were not what drew her to him when they met at 24 years old. She added that she was instead “struck” by his “deep love” for his home, the UK, when the pair first met at Stanford University in the US.

She added that while not the “easy route”, being with the PM was the “easiest decision” of her life.

After telling the audience that her speech was also a surprise to their daughters Anoushka and Krishna, she added: “The reason why I am here is really quite simple, and it is because Rishi and I are each other’s best friends.

“We are one team and I could not imagine being anywhere else but here today with all of you to show my support to him and to the party.”

Ms Murthy had to bow to pressure and announced that she would pay UK taxes on her overseas income after The Independent revealed her non-domicile status.

She closed her speech by telling the conference she often reminds her husband of the importance of fighting for his values and Conservative values “when the going gets tough”.

She concluded: “Rishi, you know this, you know that doing the right thing for the long term, even when it is hard, is the right thing to do.”