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Crash, bang, wallop! BBC's Nick Robinson and Labour MP clash in feisty live interview over Sun newspaper

“Trivialising” politics: Nick Robinson (Rex)
“Trivialising” politics: Nick Robinson (Rex)

A Labour minister clashed with Nick Robinson in a feisty early morning live radio interview in which the politician accused the BBC man of “trivialising” the election debate.

Shadow minister for International Trade Barry Gardiner also accused the presenter of behaving in a way that was “beneath” him and Radio 4’s Today programme.

For his part, Robinson claimed he was only doing what he did every day.

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The pair clashed after Robinson read out the front page of The Sun which ran a headline ‘Crash, Bang, Wallies!’

Unhappy Labour MP, Barry Gardiner (Rex)
Unhappy Labour MP, Barry Gardiner (Rex)

The paper’s headline ran alongside pictures of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and union boss Len McCluskey.

It showed Corbyn at the moment the car he was being driven in, accidentally running over the foot of a BBC cameraman, and McCluskey falling down a flight of stairs.

The pictures summed up Labour’s poor week during general election campaigning, said the Sun.

But Mr Gardiner disagreed – and disagreed on live radio.

He said: “I did think your earlier report was beneath you, this ‘Crash, bang, wallop’ stuff.”

The pair clashed over an incident which saw a BBC cameraman’s foot being run over (Rex)
The pair clashed over an incident which saw a BBC cameraman’s foot being run over (Rex)

But the BBC presenter would not back down: “No, no, that was quoting The Sun in a paper review,” to which Mr Gardiner responded: “I know it was but this is the Today programme and people expect a standard and quality of debate that is higher than ‘crash, bang, wallop’”.

The MP then criticised the broadcaster for not showing the right “degree of choice and discretion.”

From there things did not improve.

They clashed over military policy, should Labour get elected into power when Mr Gardiner accused Mr Robinson of answering the question he had just asked.

“You ask a question and then you want to answer it,” said the MP.

“Crash, bang, wallies?” Len McCluskey and Jeremy Corbyn (Rex)
“Crash, bang, wallies?” Len McCluskey and Jeremy Corbyn (Rex)

“You asked me if I could think of a scenario in which Jeremy Corbyn would sanction military action. I said I could and then you immediately jumped in and told me what you were going to answer to that question.”

He then accused Mr Robinson of “trivialising the debate”.

Reaction to the interview was mixed.

Political commentator Iain Martin tweeted that the MP acted shamelessly.

Others though took to social media to Mr Gardiner claiming he was “doing a brilliant job of dealing with the media on behalf of Labour”.