Michael Cockerell’s new documentary series inside the House of Commons saw the reporter gain unprecedented access to parliament. However, while many MPs were keen to be involved, a group of Tory MPs plotted to knock over a BBC cameraman in order to stop them filming.
The astonishing claim was made by Cockerell at a press screening today of Inside the Commons ahead of its release next Tuesday. ‘There was a plan by some backbenchers to knock our cameraman over so that proceedings would be suspended and we would be blamed for it,’ he revealed.
‘But it was thwarted by the man in charge of security. The doorkeepers are the eyes and ears and the internal security system.’ The backbenchers in question were Conservative. ‘It was a Tory group. That really is all I know, I’m not naming anyone,’ he said.
A number of MPs were hostile to the camera crew throughout filming. ‘In the memory of a very small number of MPs, fly-on-the-wall documentaries make them think “don’t let them in”‘ he said.
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