Vintage Paxman

[Tooting Gull]

Great performance on Newsnight tonight. Labour put up some rookie minister for climate change, Ian Pearson - and he was skewered and kebabbed live on TV. It was embarrassing. Even Paxman looked sorry for him over quite such an inept showing, The guy was close to tears by the end. Career - over.

 

[Beach Hut]

Surely nothing will beat the grilling of Michael Howard ?

 

[Tooting Gull]

It was really close. Howard was obviously a bigger name than this guy, so that counts for something.

 

[Beach Hut]

And when he mauled Charles Kennedy over the booze

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BklT7Qy07Is

 

[Frutos]

Surely nothing will beat the grilling of Michael Howard ?

The question is, did Mr. Howard threaten to over-rule Derek Lewis?

Another question would be: Who the f*** is/was Derek Lewis?

Answer/s on a postcard...

 

[Martlet]

Great performance on Newsnight tonight. Labour put up some rookie minister for climate change, Ian Pearson - and he was skewered and kebabbed live on TV. It was embarrassing. Even Paxman looked sorry for him over quite such an inept showing, The guy was close to tears by the end. Career - over.

I absolutely agree - caught it when I got in tonight. The guy clearly hadn't got a clue about his brief, and basically admitted the government had made a complete hash-up of climate change.

I loved the bit when he just looked sullen & embarrassed and said "you'll have to ask Gordon Brown about that". Reminded me of a Vicky Pollard sketch!

 

[larus]

Watched it too. It made me cringe. Paxman wasn't even that tough on him and the guy had no answers.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

It was really close. Howard was obviously a bigger name than this guy, so that counts for something.

Did Howard even get mauled? I hate him, but he had decided he was not going to give a yes or no answer, and he didn't. Might have looked a bit stupid, but he certainly stuck to his plan

 

[Gwylan]

Did Howard even get mauled? I hate him, but he had decided he was not going to give a yes or no answer, and he didn't. Might have looked a bit stupid, but he certainly stuck to his plan

But it gave him a reputation for shiftiness that we could never quite, er, shift.

I met Paxo a couple of years ago and like a thousand other people asked him about that. He basically said that he had no preconceived intention of going after Howard but he was being so evasive he felt he had no choice.

Paxo was actually pretty friendly and chatty, far removed from his public persona.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

The question is, did Mr. Howard threaten to over-rule Derek Lewis?

Another question would be: Who the f*** is/was Derek Lewis?

Answer/s on a postcard...

Derek Lewis was the chief inspector of prisons; and Howard later denied threatening to over-rule him.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

Paxo was actually pretty friendly and chatty, far removed from his public persona.

I sometimes see him in the canteen at work. We once shared one of those "who's first in the queue" moments and he let me in.

Unlike the other tall Jeremy from the BBC, Jeremy Clarkson, who pushed in front of my girlfriend saying, "Do you know who I am? Let me go first!"

 

[Simster]

Did Howard even get mauled? I hate him, but he had decided he was not going to give a yes or no answer, and he didn't. Might have looked a bit stupid, but he certainly stuck to his plan

But surely there are times when sticking to a plan is not good enough and you need to think on your feet. Howard was unable to do this and ended up looking like a chump, so yes I think he was mauled and a victim of his own ineptness.

Thatcher was the master at digging herself out of these holes by cleverly thinking on her feet. She would never have let Paxman go that far in an interview.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

It was embarrassing and very worrying that a minister with such an important job is so clearly inept. For Labour to be taken seriously on green issues they need a "big beast" rather than this idiot. When Paxman presents Newsnight it's still a must watch ( obviously that is, if you're in and not down the pub getting beered up).