Rishi Sunak said he was “taken totally by surprise” by a £1,000 bet with Piers Morgan on the Rwanda policy.
The TalkTV presenter wagered the Prime Minister the sum to a refugee charity that the plan to send asylum seekers to the African nation would not be up and running by the next general election.
But Mr Sunak has faced criticism over the bet in an interview yesterday.
Speaking today, he insisted he is “not a betting person” and was blindsided by the wager.
BBC host Rachel Burden said: “Yesterday you shook hands on a £1,000 bet with Piers Morgan over the Rwanda scheme.
“When people are struggling to pay their food and fuel bills in this country a lot of our listeners are saying they found that pretty offensive.”
Mr Sunak replied: “Well if I’m being totally honest I’m not a betting person and was taken totally by surprise in the middle of that interview.”
Pressed on if it was a mistake to shake his hand, Mr Sunak added: “The point I was trying to get across was actually about the Rwanda policy and about tackling illegal migration.
“It’s something I care deeply about, obviously people have strong views on this.
“I just was underlying my absolute commitment to this policy and my desire to get it through Parliament, up and running, because I believe you’ve got to have a deterrent.
“Now people have lots of different views but if you care about stopping the flow of illegal migration as I do, I believe you’ve got to have a deterrent.
“You’ve got to have somewhere you can send people so if they come here illegally they’re not able to stay. I think unless you have that you won’t ever be able to properly solve that problem.
“We’ve made progress last year the numbers are down by a third but without the deterrent, you won’t be able to solve this problem. I want to do that, I think the vast majority of the British people want this problem solved.”
During the TalkTV interview on Monday, Mr Morgan said: “I’ll bet you £1,000 to a refugee charity if you don’t get anybody on those planes before the election. Will you take that bet?”
Mr Sunak replied: “I want to get the people on the planes. I am working incredibly hard to get the people on the planes.”
The pair then shook hands as Mr Morgan repeated the amount.
The controversial Rwanda policy has so far been thwarted by legal challenges that resulted in the Supreme Court ruling last year that it was unlawful.
Mr Sunak is attempting to revive the plan with a new treaty with Kigali and his Rwanda Bill deeming the country safe.
