BBC forced to CANCEL Boris Johnson interview after Laura Kuenssberg’s last-minute blunder_l
Laura Kuenssberg has revealed her interview with former PM Boris Johnson, which was due to air tomorrow, has been scrapped after an embarrassing personal gaffe
Laura Kuenssberg interviewing Boris Johnson in October 2019 (Image: BBC)
BBC political news heavyweight Laura Kuenssberg has had to pull the plug on a much-anticipated TV interview with Boris Johnson after she made an embarrassing mistake.
The former BBC political editor revealed she inadvertently sent the former prime minister briefing notes meant for her own team ahead of the interview, leading to frustration and disappointment on her part.
The ex-BBC political editor expressed her regret on Twitter on Wednesday, saying: “While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team. That obviously means it’s not right for the interview to go ahead.
“It’s very frustrating, and there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing, as there are plenty of important questions to be asked. But red faces aside, honesty is the best policy. See you on Sunday.”
Boris Johnson is about to release his memoir, Unleashed (Image: Getty Images)
Mr Johnson’s interview was set to be his first significant discussion about his premiership since he resigned. He was due to be interrogated about various issues such as Partygate, his management of Covid, and the Chris Pincher debacle.
The ex-PM, who stepped down from Parliament when a damning Standards Committee report found he misled the House of Commons over gatherings in No 10 during lockdown, has written about his time in office in his memoir Unleashed.
GB News has announced that Mr Johnson is joining the channel as a presenter, yet no programme featuring him has yet been broadcast.
Meanwhile, a new memoir by Sir Graham Brady, the former chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, alleged that Mr Johnson labelled Conservative backbenchers “spineless chicken s***” over their criticism of his one-time aide Dominic Cummings.
The partnership between the two spectacularly disintegrated during the pandemic, with Mr Cummings comparing his former boss to an erratic shopping trolley.
After Mr Cummings’ controversial trip to Barnard Castle during lockdown restrictions, Sir Graham said Mr Johnson raged: “I think backbench MPs have been contemptible! They have been spineless chicken s***. They need to develop some backbone.”
