Eddie Mair's Fiery Interview With Tory MP Over Boris Johnson's Ability

24 September 2019, 20:11 | Updated: 25 September 2019, 08:18

"In 8 weeks, he's lost his Commons votes, lost 23 MPs, he's acted unlawfully by suspending Parliament and he's misled the monarch," said Eddie Mair in an explosive row with a Tory MP over Johnson's ability to be Prime Minister.

Eddie asked MP Steven Baker: "Do you think Boris Johnson might have helped his case if he provided some evidence to the court that they wanted in writing for why he'd made this decision in the first place?" He then commented that "it didn't come over very well."

The MP of Wycombe said: "I'm not going to get into criticising the Prime Minister."

"Why not?" asked Eddie, "Is he beyond criticism?"

"Nobody's beyond criticism," Baker said, "What I am interested in is how we go forward and what I do know is this judgement has deepened our our political crisis.

"A crisis which fundamentally arises because Remain-backing Parliamentarians have refused to do the right thing which is vote for a general election so that the public can sort out the composition of Parliament, and we can carry out a legitimate democratic decision. That's the fundamental problem."

Eddie argued: "The fundamental problem is that Boris Johnson lost in court today in a case which his own side argued in court had nothing to do with Brexit. This was about his decision to prorogue which we've agreed he didn't in any way defend or explain in any writing to the court. That was a bit of a booboo."

Baker replied that the fundamental problem was that the government doesn't have a majority in the House of Commons, to which Eddie said that the Prime Minister got rid of 21 MPs.

"Well of course he did because they had voted to take the power to determine the business of the House of Commons and hand it to a rag-tag coalition of the opposition and a number of rebels."

Baker then argued that Boris Johnson has done the right thing.

"Because the Prime Minister has to get a super majority in Parliament - two thirds majority - in order to have a general election, he's now in a position where he's totally hamstrung by the opposition.

"That is the heart of the problem: we are currently governed by a government which does not enjoy a majority in the House of Commons."

Eddie said: "Boris Johnson finally fulfilled his life-long ambition and in 8 weeks, he's lost all his Commons votes - 6 of them - he's lost 23 MPs, he's acted unlawfully by suspending Parliament and he's misled the monarch. Can I suggest to you that maybe he's not a very good Prime Minister?"

Baker said this wasn't the case at all while Eddie repeatedly urged him not to dodge the question.

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