Oliver Dowden was told the Tories are “on the brink of destruction” with just four days to go until the general election.
Sky News presenter Trevor Philips also told the deputy prime minister his party’s campaign had been “a mess”.
The pair clashed as voters prepare to go to the polls on Thursday and with Labour still miles ahead of their rivals.
Phillips said: “This is your 738th weekend in charge. How does it feel to be essentially on the eve of destruction for your party, because that’s what every signal tells us.”
Dowden replied: “In an election campaign you can have commentators and you can have participants. I’m a participant, and my job, whether it’s on the doorstep or in this television studio speaking to you and your viewers at home, is to make the case for the Conservative Party and to warn – mark my words, dogs bark, cats meow and Labour put up taxes.
“Don’t take that risk, it’s in your hands. We have a clear plan to control migration, to start to reduce taxes. The game is on, the fight is on, now is the time for people to make up their minds about the future of this country.”
But Philips hit back: “Liz Truss essentially made the party of sound money into the party of market chaos, and Boris Johnson made the party of law and order the party of lawbreakers.
“It’s really striking that in this interview you seem to refuse to accept that you’re carrying that burden – the gambling, D-Day, the rain. I mean, it’s been a mess.”
Dowden said: “Having been in power for 14 years, of course we haven’t got everything right. I totally accept that and apologies have been made for various things you’ve mentioned there.
“But fundamentally this is a choice about where we go as a country for the future.”
