No more BBC Mairs for Boris Johnson

The news that Eddie Mair is departing the BBC for LBC has been met with disappointment by his former comrades. However, Mr S suspects that there is one man who will today be breathing a sigh of relief.

Step forward Boris Johnson. It’s no secret that the foreign secretary has a frosty relationship with the broadcaster – in fact, the majority of Boris’s broadcast gaffes have been when Mair was the one asking the questions:

1. Mair to Boris – ‘you’re a nasty piece of work’

   In the first interview in 2013, Mair branded Boris a ‘nasty piece of work’. He was referring to Mr. Johnson’s integrity, which came under scrutiny in Michael Cockerell’s contemporary documentary. The allegations had been made before, and indeed partially faced by Boris in a memorable HIGNFY. But unlike before, Boris appeared genuinely flustered by the patient but firm scrutiny that Mair put him under.

2. Boris Johnson’s car crash Radio 4 interview

   Although Boris’s integrity remains a subject of much hilarity among journalists and politicians alike, the second interview was perhaps more damaging.