Mrs T? She was sexist, says Newsnight’s Kirsty
SHE was the Iron Lady who ruled in a male-dominated world.
But broadcaster Kirsty Wark has suggested Margaret Thatcher was sexist after the former prime minister accused her of ‘impertinence’ after a tough interview.
Miss Wark, 65, said she ‘infuriated’ Mrs Thatcher during a grilling for BBC Scotland in 1990 which resulted in the late politician having a ‘very sharp go’ at her.
Speaking to Radio Times, Miss Wark recalled how Mrs Thatcher attempted to ‘soften’ her up – after the BBC refused Downing Street’s request that a man conduct the interview. Sir Bernard Ingham,
Thatcher’s chief press secretary, had been dissatisfied with the broadcaster’s choice of interviewer.
Miss Wark, a presenter on BBC2’s Newsnight since 1993, said: ‘I respected her very much, she was a very strong leader and we prepared intensely for it.
‘She’d done her research because she tried to soften me up by saying, “It’s difficult for women holding down a career”.’
She added: ‘Once the interview began, she tried to put me off course.’ Miss Wark said she believes she received an ear-bashing from the Tory leader when the interview finished because it had made her feel ‘uncomfortable’.
She said: ‘Mrs Thatcher thought I was impertinent, though I don’t think she would have thought a man was impertinent. I’d made her feel so uncomfortable that she had a very sharp go at me afterwards.
‘She was standing right up beside me, accusing me of interrupting her. I just smiled, and stood my ground.’
Miss Wark has also presented on BBC2 arts programme The Late Show and docuInterview: mentary series One Foot in the Past.