Laura Kuenssberg has cancelled her BBC interview with Boris Johnson on Wednesday after she mistakenly sent him her briefing notes.
The presenter, 48, has taken to X to share the news after hyping up her followers for the interview – which was set to air on the BBC at 7.30pm on Thursday – just earlier this evening.
‘While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team,’ she began.
‘That obviously means it’s not right for the interview to go ahead. It’s very frustrating, and there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing, as there are plenty of important questions to be asked.
‘But red faces aside, honesty is the best policy. See you on Sunday.’
The 30-minute primetime midweek slot was publicised as an exclusive sit down chat with the former Prime Minister – and the first since he stepped down from Number 10.
He was supposed to face questions about Partygate and his Conservative government’s response to Covid.
This comes as Johnson is due to publish his memoir, Unleashed, this month.
The BBC also released a statement, which read: ‘Tomorrow’s interview with Boris Johnson won’t be going ahead.
‘As Laura has explained, interview briefing notes meant for colleagues were inadvertently shared with him.
‘This makes an interview tomorrow untenable. Under the circumstances, both the BBC and Mr Johnson’s team have agreed this is the best way forward.’
X users were quick to comment on the post, as former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell offered: ‘I am more than happy to stand in.’
Meanwhile, X user Tom Freeman said: ‘I am in favour of anything that reduces the amount of TV time given to Boris Johnson.’
‘Bizarre and kind of hilarious,’ wrote @mmmichaeland, as @soniapurnell said: ‘The mind boggles.’
‘I am SHOCKED,’ added @DirkMaggs, while comedian Matt Green said: ‘Hang on, what?’
In June last year Boris Johnson sensationally quit as an MP after accusing the Commons investigation into whether he misled Parliament over partygate as an attempt to ‘drive me out’.
In a scathing statement, he branded the probe a ‘kangaroo court’ and said the cross-party group of MPs sought to oust him in ‘a political hit-job’.
He left his job as Prime Minister in 2022 following a mass revolt by ministers over his leadership, sparked by scandals including Partygate.
The Privileges Committee’s 30,000-word report found that Johnson had deliberately misled Parliament in five cases.
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Had Johnson not resigned as an MP, the committee said, he would have been removed for the house for nearly three months, likely triggering a by-election in his constituency.