The BBC should give the Prime Minister an ultimatum to agree to a grilling. If he refuses, it should let Andrew Neil fact-check him in his absence.
Our public broadcaster’s cowardly decision to let Boris Johnson pick his interviewer is a disgrace. Though Andrew Marr is one of the country’s top interviewers, he couldn’t stand up to the Johnson bulldozer yesterday. Time and again, the Prime Minister just ploughed on ignoring his questions.
Jeremy Corbyn faced merciless interrogation by Neil, who is a hornet compared to Marr’s wasp. By not insisting on comparable treatment, the BBC has let Johnson off the hook.
But it’s not too late for the BBC to redeem itself. The BBC should set a tight deadline – say tomorrow close of play – for the Prime Minister to agree to be interviewed by Neil. If he still says no, their top interrogator should be unleashed on an empty chair.
Neil should be allowed to take apart Johnson’s many lies and obfuscations. He could be aided by the BBC’s Reality Check fact-checking service. If they’re looking for tough questions, here’s our top 16 – starting with: “You say it’s ‘absolutely vital’ for politicians to tell the truth. So why do you tell so many lies?”
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People will say the BBC will never have the guts to empty-chair the Prime Minister. But Channel 4 News did exactly that last week, although leaving a symbolic block of ice to melt is not the same as giving Johnson the grilling he deserves and the voters should see.
This is the most important election of our lives. Johnson’s Brexit policy – which will determine our country’s future for generations – is not being adequately scrutinised. If the BBC is really so weak that it can’t hold politicians to account, we are heading for bad times indeed.
