... as BBC’s Robinson says Boris acts ‘like a dictator’

JOURNALIST Nick Robinson has likened the behaviour of Boris Johnson to a ‘dictator’ for broadcasting directly to the public on social media.

The former BBC political editor, currently a host of Radio 4’s Today programme, called the Prime Minister’s social media use a ‘form of propaganda’ and said it was undemocratic to avoid proper scrutiny by journalists.

Mr Robinson made the comments at the Cheltenham Literature Festival – where he also warned against presenters such as himself voicing their opinions.

He said yesterday: ‘There is no doubt that all politicians know that they can broadcast directly using social media. Johnson regularly does videos on Facebook and regularly does videos on Twitter.

‘And he has the great joy on Facebook of calling it the People’s PMQs which largely consists of his aides picking questions that they want him to answer. There’s no capacity for anybody to say,

“what did you mean about that?” or “hold on a second” and so that’s democracy.’ He added: ‘ It ain’t democracy, it is a form of propaganda used by dictators down the ages.’

Mr Robinson also said it was ‘a great danger’ to allow a party leader the chance to broadcast their own show – highlighting Nigel Farage’s radio programme on LBC. Both Mr Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have only recently appeared on Today – after being criticised for shunning it in the past.

A BBC spokesman last night said Mr Robinson’s ‘point is that social media on its own could be used to give a misleading impression of accountability’. A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment.