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Erm, why?

The BBC has been forced to cancel a Laura Kuenssberg interview with Boris Johnson after she sent him her briefing notes “by mistake”.

Kuenssberg was due to meet the former Prime Minister for an interview to be broadcast on BBC One on Thursday night.

But in a statement on X, she announced: “While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team. 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.”

What’s wrong with the interviewee seeing the briefing notes? You weren’t, say, going to try to ambush him, were you?

34 thoughts on “Erm, why?”

  1. Seems perfectly reasonable to me – I mean they’ve done it for Hitlery, FJB and Heels Up Harris in the US for years……

  2. @Addolff

    Nah, that’s when the politician gets to send notes to the “journalist” with a list of questions they’d like to be asked…

  3. It’s always the humour that brings down the seemingly immovable edifice. The corruption, the perverts and the bias has supporters and detractors. But when everyone starts laughing at it the supporters vanish…

  4. Grist: « It’s always the humour that brings down the seemingly immovable edifice »

    Exactly – TTK & Co. are climbing the Laughter Curve at a stupendous rate.

  5. @Grist

    Exactly. This is why the first thing despots do is to (effectively) ban jokes, because not only does humour puncture their bubble of self-importance, the punchline to a joke reveals that there is an alternative to what you might have thought or expected. Totalitarians hate that.

  6. Unusually for a public figure Boris remained impervious to mockery and honed his lovable buffoon act to perfection.

    If only he had stuck to that script rather than allow his gonads (or more accurately the young lady squeezing them) to override his better judgement.

  7. Amazingly, since being coup’d by Rishi and the Bank of England, Boris has decided to double down on the ever-popular policy of WAR! (*Brass Eye intro*)

    In this, he’s 100% on the same page as Rishi, the other fake conservatives, Sir Kweer, and the rest of our muppetocracy. The official foreign policy of the UK is to further escalate the Ukraine war with massive attacks on Russia.

    (Remember, when Kenny Everett said “let’s bomb Russia” it was a joke and he was slated for it, now it’s our foreign policy)

    The Americans are not pleased, they don’t further want escalation at this time which is why the Biden/Kamala regime sent Two Tier and President Zelensky home with a firm “no” to the “victory plan”.

    The media is still raging against Trump as a threat to the Ukraine project, but Kamala just told Ukraine to pound sand too. So Ukraine has no more strategic room for maneuver – they’re locked into fighting a war they can’t win by themselves and we won’t give them the kind of support that could change that dynamic. We will only give them just enough to keep them losing to Russia. The only difference Trump might make is to bring about the inevitable slightly sooner than Kamala’s later.

    So my question is, how and why did the UK establishment end up enemies of Russia, and why is the British government a lot more warmongery than the US government? Is it the same problem of innumeracy that leads them to think Net Zero might work? Because the British Army could maybe field a couple of brigades if WW3 broke out tomorrow, and be out of ammo within a week.

  8. Can’t have Boris telling a sizeable BBC audience that Covid was a giant scam.

    @Steve

    So my question is, how and why did the UK establishment end up enemies of Russia

    Because their masters across the pond told them to.

  9. Interested – but they didn’t tell them to start actual Dubya-Dubya-Three.

    The Kursk Offensive, which was met with bafflement and horror in Washington DC when they found out about it, seems to have been planned by Ukraine and the British government for the purposes of showing that “Putin’s red lines” can be merrily skipped over without consequence. Otherwise there’s no sane reason to send most of your best troops and gear into an invasion of Russia when Ukraine is badly losing in Ukraine.

    It seems like it’s Britain that’s trying to parlay the Special Relationship into another jolly big war, not the Yanks. Not uncommon for the Hegemon to find its “allies” become almost as big a problem as its enemies, but this is still a bizarre dynamic.

    As Europeans, you’d think we’d want to stop wars in Europe, but we don’t. We don’t even have the excuse of naked self interest – whose interests are being served by the demographic destruction of Ukraine and the economic devastation of our continental trading partners?

    All very odd.

    Now that the “victory plan” has been rejected, I expect them to try other cunning plans to somehow draw the USA into directly fighting Ivan. Like a dog chasing a car down the street, there seems to be no thought of what happens if we catch the car.

    But I don’t expect Laura Kussenberg intended to ask Boris about any of this.

  10. Oh Steve, you really do come out with a load of bollocks. For a start, the UK establishment didn’t end up the “enemies of Russia”. They’re the enemies of the Putin regime. Of the Russians who actually know what’s going on, the only ones who regard the UK as an “enemy” are doing so for the purpose of personal gain. The rest of the country is doing what it’s told. And at this stage, Putin’s tactics are all about keeping Putin & his cronies in power & keeping his cronies on-side. Putin will manufacture “enemies” to suit his purpose. So the more Putin succeeds in his war aims, the firmer his grasp on power. Which was the reason he kicked it off in the first place. In the mistaken belief it was going to be a roll over.
    The Putin regime was never stable. Russians want to be what they think the West is (God help them!) They want an open prosperous country. That’s incompatible with the way they’re governed. They certainly don’t want a ruinous war.

  11. BiS – For a start, the UK establishment didn’t end up the “enemies of Russia”. They’re the enemies of the Putin regime.

    Is that why the British establishment stole Roman Abramovic’s property and banned Russian ballet?

    There’s no reason to believe the Russian state would behave differently if Putin was replaced.

    Of the Russians who actually know what’s going on, the only ones who regard the UK as an “enemy” are doing so for the purpose of personal gain. The rest of the country is doing what it’s told.

    No, this doesn’t seem to be true. Putin is more popular, and more secure in his rule now, than at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Not because of his tyranny, but because most Russians support the war.

    Putin will manufacture “enemies” to suit his purpose.

    Rilly? Seems like his domestic enemies are mostly dead now.

    So the more Putin succeeds in his war aims, the firmer his grasp on power.

    Yes.

    Which was the reason he kicked it off in the first place. In the mistaken belief it was going to be a roll over.

    The belligerents usually underestimate how bloody, long and painful war is going to be, but Putin didn’t need to start a war to solidify his position. And given that Putin wanted to end the war in May 2022 – on very similar conditions to the Minsk agreements Ukraine had already signed – it’s not logical to claim this was all Pooty-poot’s Machiavellian scheme to become even more powerful as King Slav.

    Remember who flew into Kiev to tell President Zelensky we wouldn’t support him in peace, only in war? It rhymes with Joris Bohnson.

    Blessed are the peacemakers, but what about people who are directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths and amputations? I wonder how many Olympic sized swimming pools we could fill with all the blood that sank into the steppes.

  12. Steve

    Interesting – I did ask PJF for his views from the Kursk salient and haven’t heard from him yet – I presumed he would have accompanied the Ukrainians who are waging war on his, and other warmongers’ behalf but apparently not.

    I think it’s very tough (and has always been) to get an accurate picture of what is coming out of Russia. Certainly the presaged economic and military collapse hasn’t yet been forthcoming, although I do think China will take the opportunity to solidify its influence over the resource rich East of Russia.

    However, I don’t think anyone can gainsay Steve’s assessment of the complete futility of the entire exercise here and the need for a ceasefire, especially with thousands of people far more dangerous than any Russian extant in the UK and willing to kill any non- Muslim, with at least a company or platoon more arriving every week, and being given public assistance to set themselves up as a terrorist cell. All this at a time where we have almost run out of weapons and ammunition for our own forces? Dare one speculate we have ‘our priorities wrong’ ?

    Never mind all that, though – 4 weeks to Diwali and we can all celebrate the multicultural utopia we have created once again…

  13. VP – Idk what PJF makes of the Kursk operation, but most of the voluble pro-Ukraine supporters on the internet were very excited by it, because they still think war is a computer game.

    But you don’t need to be Montgomery to understand that diverting your own troops – when you have a manpower crisis on the front – to open up another front against an enemy that retains escalatory dominance, has little chance of success.

    That’s why I’m sure it wasn’t intended to succeed on its own, it was intended to sell the Americans on the idea of attacking Russia.

  14. @ Steve
    There are two *plausible* (I lack mind-reading skills in English, let alone Ukrainian or Hebrew – David is a more relevant exemplar than Alexander in Wolodomyr’s situation) one of which is that he wanted to draw all the Russian forces from Donbas to minimise Putin’s embarrassment at an invasion of Russia itself (if so, it didn’t work well enough as Russia made a significant gain at Vuhledar), the secons is as a bargaining chip at the negotiating table when Russia finds it too difficult to recruit more volunteers/criminals for its “meat-grinder”.
    The idea of getting America to attack Russia belongs in the category of “what is he smoking?” – the USA never started a war that it fought it might lose after the Canadians gave it a good kicking [it joinedin both WW1 and WW2 more than two years late when it was clear that Germany couldn’t win even if it stayed neutral]

  15. Meanwhile, according to the DT, Judge Cunty McCuntface has just ruled that calling a bird a bird is “sexual harassment”. You’ll be gutted, Tim.

    Oh, and Lammy has just give Diego Garcia to a bunch of Chinese-backed fundamentalist Muslims. Smart move. That’ll please the Septics. And India. And Australia.

  16. Norman

    Lammy makes Gavin Williamson look like Palmerston – what an absolutely idiotic individual…

  17. John – Yarp, it does not seem to have diverted significant Russian forces from Donbass. There was little chance it would, since Russia already has more troops to throw at problems.

    You try to overstretch your enemy when you have the numerical advantage, otherwise you’re just thinning out your front line on the off chance that the enemy is stupid.

    Taking Russian territory would give Ukraine something to bargain with, but only if they can hold on before Russia expels them. Ukraine put together one of the biggest attack packages of the war to date for Kursk. Hundreds of tanks and other armoured vehicles and something like 2-3 brigades possibly?

    They don’t seem to have been well spent, Kursk had less chance of success than the Bulge from the very start. We no longer have any spare tanks and arty to donate to Ukraine, and they’re badly struggling with recruiting fresh troops, so Kursk is probably the last major offensive Ukraine will be able to launch.

  18. Norman

    Must admit I think it was stupid to give away Diego Garcia if they still want the base there.

    But as far as I can tell, the main religion in Mauritius is Hinduism. Though 16% are Muslims.

  19. Diego Garcia:

    An extraordinary blame game has erupted dragging in Liz Truss and James Cleverly following Sir Keir Starmer’s shock decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

    The deal is meant to secure the future of a secretive military base but has left the UK without sovereignty territorial control over an island which is crucial to western security in the Pacific. It has led to fear that China could achieve its goal of getting bases on the island itself.

    We don’t have sovereign territorial control over Great Britain, so why do we need to rule islands in the Pacific?

    The sudden announcement was rapidly followed by a furious tweet go out from Tory leadership contender James Cleverly calling the Labour government “weak, weak, weak”. However, it quickly emerged that the talks to hand over the islands were started by Mr Cleverly himself before being stopped by his successor as foreign secretary Lord David Cameron.

    In a pointed tweet, Tory leadership rival and former security minister Tom Tugendhat described the talks being opened under a Conservative government as “disgraceful” without name checking Mr Cleverly.

    But the former foreign secretary’s camp has hit back with a briefing blaming former prime minister Liz Truss and suggesting that the loss of the islands is part of the toxic legacy of her 49-day premiership

    It’s all so tiresome.

    Meanwhile, Labour said the Tories left an inheritance which could have seen the joint UK-US base fall into the control of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), putting British and US national security at risk.

    The International Court of Justice would have sent the International Bailiffs of Justice to seize the islands, apparently.

    Related: the British government is trying to stop the Falkland Islands from producing oil.

    That’s what British colonialism has come to: trying to artificially keep the colonists poor. In which case, who needs the British government?

  20. The simple answer Steve is I talk with & listen to Russians & you don’t. And particularly I’m talking with the sort of Russians would be influential in a Putin free Russia, not blackarses from the southern oblasts or far Siberia. I’ve said before, you know sweet FA about the country & your opinions are worthless.

  21. Ummm!! Diego Garcia is in the north western part of the Indian Ocean.

    Dunno whether the base affects matters in the Pacific. Indeed I’d always thought that the Yanks wanted it so they had somewhere safe to threaten the Middle East!! And the locals were turfed out precisely because they’d be bound to make a huge fuss exactly when the place was most needed.

    As a scifi fan, the tale I liked best was the talk of building a synfuel plant there powered by nukes and making hydrocarbons from seawater.

  22. BiS – I’m not sure the kind of Russians who frequent brothels in Spain are necessarily that representative of the average voter in Vladivostok.

    I’ve said before, you know sweet FA about the country & your opinions are worthless.

    Testy.

    Bboy – Sorry, I fail at geography. I’ve never really seen the point of Foreign.

  23. Oh very cutting, Steve. I’ve know Russians most of my life. One of the advantages of being from Central London, not some benighted suburb out in the boonies where the biggest event of the week is Strictly. London’s always had a sizeable Russian community. The same sort of Russians live here. Spain also has a large Russian community. And no, they’re not all “mafia gangsters”. They’re Russia’s middle class, mostly. This war’s a disaster for them, both here & back home.

  24. To be fair to Lammy ( barnpot that he is ) all this was started off by that other 5 Star moron Cleverly. Needless to say, it is Starmer’s mates who benefit most ( according to Guido ).

    I rather hope that Cleverly does win the Tory leadership, he’ll finish off Sunak’s work of making the Tories totally unelectable ever again.

  25. BiS – I mean you and your trade no disrespect, (you are less wicked than tax collectors, lawyers, journalists, double glazing salesmen and many other respectable professions).

    On the other hand, you are the Pimp Mack Daddy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  26. What trade do you think I’m in, Steve? For me it’s only ever been a hobby. I know it’s almost impossible to make any money at it. Hardly anyone really does.
    The reason: Everybody in the industry has failed at everything else they’ve ever done. That’s why they’re in it. Which means you’re dealing with some of the most stupid, useless people on the planet. it is almost impossible to get them to do what is required to make money.
    Despite that, I quite like the people. They can be fun. And anything but anything is better than the Brit middle classes.

  27. Tim ought to post a specific Ukraine thread every other day to meet Steve’s need for defeatist propaganda. Athough there is some amusement in seeing how clumsy the segue from subject to surrender gets, it does mean that the fun might be missed altogether.

    As to the Kursk intrusion, at first it seemed equivalent to Jerry occupying the Norfolk Broads in response to the Normandy landings. I assumed the Russians would just let them sit there bottled up in the middle of nowhere (the obvious thing to do for a regime that need not concern itself with public opinion). But Russia is actually spending resources to kick them out so there does seem to be some wisdom to the adventure afterall. Russia’s push out of Avdivka toward Pokrovsk has definitely slowed, and Russia is being pushed out of Vovchansk. Despite what Steve says, Russia does not have plenty of resources to throw around. And now it has to spend them defending Russia.

    One interesting thing I read was that the Ukrainians were able to tap into the Russian military train timetables via the capture of the station at Sudzha. No idea if that was true, but if catching the trains loading / unloading at the ammo dump attacks was a coincidence it sure was a spectacular one. You have to admit those kiloton explosions were good bang. And now the Russians are having to ration artillery shells.

    Given its position, Ukraine’s best bet for this year would be for Russia to have expended maximum resources whilst meeting as few goals as possible. With typical weather the Orcs have a couple of weeks left to capture Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar and Kupiansk.

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