Yes, a snap decision but the right one

I DON’T as a rule make snap decisions. They can leave you a hostage to fortune. So when the red light faded and died in ITV’s Good Morning Britain studios at the close of Tuesday’s programme, where I’d been filling in for regular host Piers Morgan, I was assailed by self-doubt. Why?

Because I realised I’d just been responsible for a TV first. I’d kicked a serving Cabinet minister off a live programme, unceremoniously and without hesitation. Later, I checked. As I suspected, no-one’s ever done that before. Blimey.

And not just any old low-tomiddle ranking minister. Oh no. A holder of one of the great offices of state: the Defence Secretary, no less. Booted off. Shown the red card. Terminated. (I actually said: “Right. OK. Interview terminated.”) Oh dear. Gavin Williamson was on to talk primarily about an MoD scheme to send British soldiers to Malawi to help stop elephant poachers. Fine. My co-host Charlotte Hawkins and I praised the idea and the minister was happy to answer all our questions about it.

Then we turned to Williamson’s controversial statement after the Salisbury nerve agent attack. He had said that Russia should: “Shut up and go away.” Many thought that made him sound like a sulky pre-adolescent and he took a lot of flak over it.

We played the “shut up” soundbite and then I asked him politely if now he regretted it and agreed it sounded “a bit too informal”.

Hardly a killer question but he totally evaded it, waffling on about the amazing job done by health staff in Salisbury. True, but not what I’d asked him. So I tried again. And again. And again.

Each time, after the most explicit, simply worded question, the Defence Secretary brazenly obfuscated and side-stepped and flannelled. It was shameless, blatant. He just wouldn’t address the question. At all. I gave it a last go. “I’m asking this question not on my behalf but on that of our viewers. So on behalf of those viewers, would you please answer the question. The question is – I’ll try it one more time – do you regret using very casual, Trump-esque language like ‘shut up and go away’?”

I really thought he’d give some semblance of an answer at last but no, yet more generalised waffle. “Enough of this,” I thought to myself. Snap decision time.

“Right,” I interrupted. “You’re not going to answer, are you? OK. Interview terminated.”

Judging by his expression this was not the outcome our Defence Secretary was expecting. It wasn’t the one I was expecting either. I’ve been conducting live network TV interviews with politicians for over 30 years and I’ve never axed one from the programme midinterview. Neither, as far as I can discover, has any other interviewer. Had I gone too far?

Not according to mainstream media, social media and people on the street. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything so popular on TV in my entire career: the response has been overwhelmingly positive and approving.

People are sick to the back teeth of question-dodging politicians. If the only way to bring them up short is to kick them off the show, let’s start doing it.

I’ve got a new rule when one of them uses the tactics of evasion.

Three strikes and you’re out. Maybe if all us interviewers adopt that principle the quality of political debate on television will rapidly and dramatically improve. Hell, it’s worth a try. VIAGRA is now being openly advertised on the telly by makers Pfizer. The commercial has as its soundtrack Steve Harley’s monster hit from 1975, Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me). I know Steve – before he formed his band Cockney Rebel he was a reporter on an East London newspaper. I got his job when he left to make his first chart topper. It wasn’t Make Me Smile. And it’s a good job Pfizer didn’t use it on their ad.

Why? Er… the title. Mr Soft.