The BBC had to call off an interview with Boris Johnson owing to a faux pas made by host Laura Kuenssberg, who mistakenly forwarded her preparatory notes to the ex-Prime Minister instead of her team. Kuenssberg, who had been the lead political correspondent for the BBC from 2015 till 2022, labelled the incident as both “embarrassing and disappointing.” As a result, it was deemed inappropriate for the interview to continue.
Mr Johnson, who held the prime ministerial office in the UK from 2019 to 2022, has a forthcoming memoir called Unleashed, set for release the following week. Kuenssberg has previously scrutinised his government in the Panorama episode – Partygate: Inside the Storm and has revisited recent Tory years in her BBC Two three-part series, Laura Kuenssberg: State of Chaos.
On Wednesday evening, Kuenssberg posted on X: “In the process of making preparations for my interview with Boris Johnson tomorrow, unfortunately, I ended up sending the briefing notes meant for my team to him. That clearly renders it incorrect for the interview to proceed. While it’s utterly exasperating and not to mention embarrassing and disappointing, that doesn’t change the fact that there are significant questions to be raised. However, setting aside our moment of embarrassment, honesty remains paramount. Look forward to catching up Sunday.” A representative for Mr. Johnson did not offer any comments. – PA