Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries was left angered after Boris Johnson was told to ‘stop talking’ during a heated debate with presenter Nick Robinson.
The culture secretary, who took over from Oliver Dowden in the Cabinet reshuffle, expressed her frustration after the exchange between Mr Robinson and the Prime Minister on Radio 4’s Today programme – which sparked 558 Ofcom complaints this month.
The interview featured the MP from Mid-Bedforshire. He has asked the BBC to develop plans to combat impartiality. Tell your friends: Nick Robinson has cost BBC a lot of cash’ The TimesReports
It comes as Ms Dorries, whose appointment comes amid ongoing talks with the broadcaster about what level the licence fee should be set at for the next five years, recently told BBC bosses to address bias and elitism within the corporation.
Nadine Dorries, Cabinet minister, took over from Oliver Dowden during the September Cabinet reshuffle. She told allies that Nick Robinson had cost the BBC a lot.
558 Ofcom complaints were raised by 558 Ofcom subscribers after Nick Robinson, Prime Minister, and Prime Minister, exchanged on Today.
During her first meeting with Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, and the corporation’s chairman Richard Sharp last moth the culture secretary is understood to have called for reforms and a greater monitoring of the balance of news programmes within the corporation.
According to The Times, a source said that they were both stunned and gulped their tea. They thought she was going to roll over.
It comes as the BBC revealed it had received 558 objections on the grounds of bias over the heated Radio 4’s Today show between the Prime Minster and Nick Robinson earlier this month.
The interview at Manchester’s Conservative conference got off to a fast start with Mr Robinson asking how long it had since Mr Johnson was last on, prompting him cheekily to reply “has it really been that much?”
During the interview, Mr Johnson was interrupted by Mr Robinson during a lengthy answer to the supply chain crisis. He said: ‘Prime Minister. You are going to pause.
“Prime Minister, please stop talking. We are going to have questions, not just talk.
Before Robinson asked him a question about business taxes, the PM replied, “I’m very happy that you’ve stopped talking,”
After a series more irritable exchanges Mr Robinson ended the interview and said to the PM: ‘Thanks for talking to Today and allowing me to ask the occasional question.’
The politician responded: “It’s very kind for you to allow me to talk… I thought that was the point in inviting me to your show.
During the interview Mr Johnson was interrupted by Mr Robinson for an answer to the supply chain crises.
Following the interview Tory MPs complained about how Mr Johnson had been treated, with John Redwood tweeting: ‘When the PM had a good answer to a question, the BBC Today programme tried to stop him, asking a different question.
“BBC interviewers should be able to give an answer and pretend to be interested” in the person they are interviewing. They seem to want their opinion to be imposed instead.
Andrew Murrison (MP for South West Wiltshire) dismissed Mr Robinson’s approach to the issue as’slapstick.
He stated that the rudeness of Trademark BBC impedes political debate. Rarely does it get the “gotcha moment” its overpaid pundits want.
Shortly after the PM had left, Mr Robinson – the BBC’s former political editor- sought to respond to criticisms he had made.
He said: ‘For those listeners who may have been slightly offended by me telling the prime minister to stop talking… the truth is he’s a great communicator [but]He’s not a man who believes in himself. [always]The cut and thrust of question/answer’ is what I love.
Speaking at a Conservative Party fringe event this month, Ms Dorries demanded change at the BBC, saying its staff needed to reflect a wider demographic than just people ‘whose mum and dads work there’.
When asked if the licence fee would still be mandatory in 10 or 20 year’s, she replied: “I can’t see into the future. In 10 years, will the BBC still exist? I don’t know.
‘We can’t look into the future. It is a highly competitive environment right now.
“You have Amazon Prime, Netflix, or other bods in the pipeline.
“This younger generation that is coming through, they certainly watched their TV in a very different manner than how my generation watched it, so who knows what we’ll be doing?
She said she didn’t want to be in a ‘war with the broadcaster’ but suggested that it would need to outline how it will change before the next settlement for the licence fee, which covers the five-year period beginning April 2022.
MailOnline reached out for comment to Ms. Dorries of the BBC