Richard Madeley didn't hold back as he slammed a guest of Good Morning Britain as 'rude'. The presenter was back at the helm of the ITV news programme on Wednesday morning alongside Charlotte Hawkins.
During the first hour of the show the pair discussed the latest news headlines with the help of commentators Kevin Maguire and Andrew Pierce as well as the show's resident doctor, Dr Hilary Jones.
Among the stories being discussed was that of Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner who have received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary as the force investigates a gathering held in party offices during lockdown. Both the Labour leader and his deputy have said they will stand down if fined by police.
It comes after Sir Keir was caught on camera drinking a beer in an MP’s office after a day of campaigning for the local elections in Durham in April 2021. Ms Rayner was also at the event, dubbed by some as "beergate" in the wake of the Downing Street "partygate" investigation into lockdown breaches.
After discussing the latest development, Richard and Charlotte were joined on the programme by the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray live via vide link from Westminster. Richard, 66, wasted no time in asked the MP about Sir Keir and Ms Rayner's current investigation.
"You guys need 'beergate' like a hole in the head don't you? It's perfectly calibrated ammunition for [Boris] Johnson to fire back every time Sir Keir has a go at him about 'Partygate,'" Richard started by saying. Mr Murray said that he "didn't think so" before adding; "I don't think we should be making any false equivalents with the industrial scale partying that's been going on in Downing Street as highlighted by the Metropolitan Police and the Sue Grey report."
He went on to echo Sir Keir and Ms Rayner's story about the meeting in question before praising his 'integrity' for agreeing to stand down if he is found to have been in breach of lockdown rules. Richard then asked: "Who will take over?"
Mr Murray avoided the direct question and started by saying Durham Police have received allegations and are 'duty bond' to investigate. But as he continued, Richard interjected and spoke over their guest. He said: "I'm sorry but you're telling us what we know. The question is who would take over if Sir Keir were to be fined and were to stick to his promise and step down?"
"Who will be the next leader of the Labour Party?" he added before Mr Murray, again, failed to directly answer the question. Interrupting once more, Richard asked who would be the leader of the Labour Party. "Come on... look! It is an uncomplicated question. If you don't want to answer it, that's fine. Just say, 'Don't ask me that question Richard because I'm not going to answer it.'"
He went on: "The viewers at home can hear me ask a question and they can hear you give an answer to a question I haven't asked. It's just politeness. I'll ask you politely one more time, if Sir Keir Starmer does step down, and it's a possibility, because he gets a fine, who do you think will take over? Who are the runners and riders for the leadership of the Labour Party?"
Richard then fumed: "If you don't want to answer it, say you don't want to answer it. Don't give me an answer to a question I haven't asked. It's just rude." Getting his chance to respond, Mr Murray said: "I think it's also rude to interrupt when I'm trying to answer the question."
But Richard, again, interjected, and said; "You're not answering the question that's why I'm interrupting." As Mr Murray tried to speak, Richard shouted; "No, excuse me! I'm interrupting you, sir, because you're not answering the question and I will interrupt anyone, of any party, who doesn't answer the question because that's my job."
He tried a final time with the 'simple and polite' question to which Mr Murray said; "It's not something we are considering at the moment because we think the accusations that have been put to Keir Starmer in terms of Durham and 'beergate' are false and he was abiding buy the rules."
