BBC presenter Nick Robinson last night admitted he SHOULDN’T have told Boris Johnson to “stop talking” during a spiky interview.
Corporation bosses said the veteran broadcaster didn’t mean to be rude when he brutally cut off the PM midway through a Radio 4 grilling at Tory party conference.
MPs and listeners railed against Robinson’s “disgraceful” treatment of the PM and swamped the Beeb with complaints.
In an official response yesterday the BBC said: “In a live interview presenters have to judge how far to press for direct answers before moving the interview on.
“There was certainly no desire to appear rude and post broadcast, and on reflection, Nick Robinson himself would have preferred to have used different language.
“Having said that, Nick Robinson covered a wide range of topics within a short space of time with the Prime Minister, who was able to set out his points on the issues raised.”
The pair clashed on the airwaves in Manchester earlier this month as Robinson skewered the PM on the delivery crisis causing chaos at petrol pumps.
FIERY INTERVIEW
It was the PM’s first appearance on the flagship Today programme in two years following a period of strained relations with the show.
The 57-year-old host wasn’t happy when the PM launched into a long-winded answer and tried to pin him down.
He butted in – resulting in the two men talking over each other – before finally snapping.
Robinson stormed: “Prime Minister – stop talking. We are going to have questions and answers, not where you merely talk, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Disgruntled Mr Johnson was left grumbling under his breath.
At the time Tory MP Tom Hunt said it was “a disgraceful way to talk to a prime minister”.
