BBC interview featuring Nick Robinson telling Boris Johnson to ‘stop talking’ sparks 560 complaints 

BBC interview featuring Nick Robinson telling Boris Johnson to ‘stop talking’ sparks 560 complaints

  • The controversial radio broadcast where Boris Johnson was told to ‘stop talking’ by BBC host Nick Robinson sparked hundreds of complaints
  • The corporation revealed yesterday it received 558 objections on the grounds of bias over Radio 4’s Today show last week
  • MPs criticised the interview as ‘downright rude’ and ‘slapstick’ while Tory co-chairman Oliver Dowden said politicians ‘have the right to finish a sentence’
  • The BBC also received 376 complaints of bias over TV politics host Andrew Marr’s earlier interview with the PM


The controversial radio broadcast where Boris Johnson was told to ‘stop talking’ by BBC host Nick Robinson sparked hundreds of complaints.

The corporation revealed yesterday it received 558 objections on the grounds of bias over Radio 4’s Today show last week. 

During the tense exchange, Mr Robinson also told the Prime Minister ‘you are going to pause’ as the pair talked over each other.

The controversial radio broadcast where Boris Johnson was told to ‘stop talking’ by BBC host Nick Robinson sparked hundreds of complaints. The corporation revealed yesterday it received 558 objections on the grounds of bias over Radio 4’s Today show last week

MPs criticised the interview as ‘downright rude’ and ‘slapstick’ while Tory co-chairman Oliver Dowden said politicians ‘have the right to finish a sentence’. 

The BBC also received 376 complaints of bias over TV politics host Andrew Marr’s earlier interview with the PM.

The BBC said of the Robinson interview: ‘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.’

Earlier this week the corporation defended Mr Marr’s interview against complaints it had been ‘aggressive’ and that he had interrupted the Prime Minister too much. During the interview, the BBC presenter had told Mr Johnson he had ‘said something that isn’t true’ about wages. The following day, new Culture secretary Nadine Dorries, appearing on LBC, had said she would ‘argue otherwise’ when show host Iain Dale suggested Mr Marr would say he was an impartial interviewer

Earlier this week the corporation defended Mr Marr’s interview against complaints it had been ‘aggressive’ and that he had interrupted the Prime Minister too much. During the interview, the BBC presenter had told Mr Johnson he had ‘said something that isn’t true’ about wages. The following day, new Culture secretary Nadine Dorries, appearing on LBC, had said she would ‘argue otherwise’ when show host Iain Dale suggested Mr Marr would say he was an impartial interviewer

Earlier this week the corporation defended Mr Marr’s interview against complaints it had been ‘aggressive’ and that he had interrupted the Prime Minister too much.

During the interview, the BBC presenter had told Mr Johnson he had ‘said something that isn’t true’ about wages.

The following day, new Culture secretary Nadine Dorries, appearing on LBC, had said she would ‘argue otherwise’ when show host Iain Dale suggested Mr Marr would say he was an impartial interviewer.

The corporation had said this week in a statement that Mr Johnson was ‘no stranger to robust and challenging interviews’ and that it was ‘appropriate to hold the leader of the nation to account on different issues’.

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