An empty chair on 5 Live
Radio 5 Live have been interviewing the party leaders in advance of the local election campaign. David Cameron has been on. Then Nick Clegg. And this morning? Jack Straw.
Is the BBC getting ahead of events?
No. They did ask Gordon Brown.
However, despite finding more than half an hour to be interviewd for 5,000 viewers on Labour's website, the Prime Minister refused to go on Five Live.
In other words, the leader of the Labour Party hid from the microphone and from questioning when thousands of his party's candidates face the voters on Thursday. Extraordinary.
Straw told Victoria Derbyshire that Brown's failure to appear was due to a scheduling issue. This is nonsense.
Perhaps Brown is off to signing a treaty somewhere?
Posted by: Steve Clark | 28 Apr 2008 13:01:40
If my ears did not deceive me, on BBC Radio 4's 9 o'clock news last night (27 April 2008), Jack Straw was on, to defend Gordon Brown from Lord Levy, and said "... when we elected Gordon Brown last year -- and we did elect him -- ...".
"Nurse! Nurse!", as they say on the Telegraph blogs, "Mr Straw's out of bed again ..."
Posted by: David Moss | 28 Apr 2008 13:13:05
Hasn't Mr Brown/McCavity the mystery cat got form for this?
I sometimes think that programmes like Channel 4 News and Newsnight should play a 'chicken' sound when they announce that 'no one from the government was prepared to speak to us' . . .
Posted by: davemack | 28 Apr 2008 15:28:27
David Moss - Very much so. As Chancellor, Brown didn't appear on Question Time once. All those grubby people wanting to ask him things, and not being able to control the questions put him off, I would imagine.
And of course he never goes to things here they might reflect badly on him. The Lisbon signing, for example.
Posted by: David | 28 Apr 2008 18:00:21
What I would like to question WHY our National Newspapers are gagged on many occasions of informing the British Public of the truth,supposedly being there to inform us of such. No mention in any paper or on TV, over 3,000 protesters out side Parliament Re: referendom, only endless pages of our PM's concern re: plastic bags, when others are saying, I quote that our PM,has signed all our legal rights away. When our brill Mr Blair promised the UK Public a vote, what an eronious contract we the British public entered into, and what a breach of contract with Mr Blair
Posted by: Elizabeth Cochrane | 28 Apr 2008 20:46:18
I always picture Mr Brown hiding under his desk and refusing to come out until he has some good news to hide behind.
Posted by: Dave B | 29 Apr 2008 02:01:27
Perhaps he thought the Pope was going to appear on the same show...
Posted by: Faceless Bureaucrat | 29 Apr 2008 09:54:20