Ian Hislop believes Laura Kuenssberg was tainted by extremist attitudes as she prepares to step down as the BBC’s political editor.
Speaking to JOE Media on Private Eye’s 60th anniversary, the much-loved journalist and broadcaster humorously suggested he had put himself forward to replace Kuenssberg, saying:
“I think they need someone who is, let’s face it, less anti-government.
“I think Laura was tainted by her extreme right-wing attitudes (which I failed to detect).
“But I think it’s time for me now, with my impartial views.”
Tipping Mark Francois for the job, he said the Tory backbencher has the “insight and intellect” needed to do the job.
Failing that, Jeremy Corbyn, who is “short of things to do at the moment”, would be the ideal replacement, Heslop said.
‘They should be ashamed’
Earlier this month Hislop accused Tory MPs of seeking to undermine “democracy, transparency and accountability” in a must-watch monologue on Have I Got News For You.
The fallout from the Owen Paterson scandal has left Boris Johnson counting the cost of a humiliating government U-turn.
The Prime Minister now faces the prospect of a by-election in North Shropshire which will be dominated by allegations of sleaze following Paterson’s resignation.
In a cutting minute-long explainer of the affair, Private Eye editor Hislop said Tory MPs who voted through changes to parliamentary sleaze laws were “absolutely disgraceful”, saying they “should be ashamed of themselves”.
And he suggested the “really quite shocking” scandal came about because of the parliamentary standards commissioner’s pending investigation into Johnson’s controversial holiday to Mustique at the start of 2020.
Watch the full speech here.