It’s quite rare that you see news presenters genuinely frustrated by an interview with a politician, but that’s exactly how Lee Anderson managed to leave Richard Madeley and Charlotte Hawkins following his appearance on Good Morning Britain.
You can’t blame them either. There’s only so many times you can present someone with an undeniable truth that they repeatedly refuse to acknowledge or accept.
On Wednesday morning, 30p Lee spoke to GMB from Calais, where the Reform MP had travelled to confront migrants attempting to cross the Channel in small boats.
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His visit came in the same week Reform had unveiled their grand Operation Fortress plan to deploy the navy in the Channel to push back small boats and return them to France.
The plan has been slammed as unfeasible and unworkable by many – and a ‘crock of sh*t’ by one former Navy officer – whilst France has made it clear it will not agree to it due to the small matter of it breach international law and violate their sovereignty.
No matter how many times Reform are told this though, they simply refuse to accept it.
The most infuriating case of this came as Anderson was interviewed on Good Morning Britain about the plan.
On several occasions, presenters Richard Madeley and Charlotte Hawkins put it to Anderson that France has made explicitly clear they will not accept Reform’s proposals. But on each occasion, the Ashfield MP simply ignored this.
Madeley clearly explained to Anderson that France will not allow British naval vessels to enter their waters, to which Anderson claimed he was “missing the point.”
The following brief exchange perhaps best sums up the impossible task Madeley and Hawkins faced in trying to get through to Anderson:
Hawkins: There’s still the sticking point of the French not letting you do this.
Anderson: How do you know?
Hawkins: Because they’ve said it’s a violation of their sovereignty and it wouldn’t be legal
Anderson: Absolute nonsense.
Hawkins: But that is what they’ve said!
This was pretty much how the entire interview went, with some describing it as an “excruciating” conversation and others saying Madeley and Hawkins “might as well be banging their heads up against a brick wall.”
Anderson even resorted to accusing the presenters of criticising Reform’s plans, to which they pointed out they were simply highlighting facts.
In the end, Madeley and Hawkins realised there was no use carrying on the interview, with Madeley in particular left particularly baffled by Anderson’s refusal to answer their questions.
You can watch it below.