Sajid Javid slammed by presenter for ‘pre-prepared soundbites’ during car crash interview

Sajid Javid slammed by presenter for pre-prepared soundbites during car crash interview. Photo: PA - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

The chancellor of the exchequer has come under fire after a ‘car crash’ radio interview in which he refused to write off the possibility of a no-deal Brexit and refused to condemn the prime minister for Islamaphobia.

Chancellor Sajid Javid on @BBCr4today is having a laugh! The Tories want a Canadian style EU trade deal which took 10years to negotiate-only a fantasist would think it possible to do that in 11months.We start from a position of convergence BUT the purpose of Brexit is to diverge https://t.co/5CWXK7elED
— Chuka Umunna (@ChukaUmunna) December 5, 2019

Sajid Javid was grilled by Martha Kearney on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“You’ve got an awful lot more to do,” Kearney told Javid as he went into a breathless spiel about the Conservatives’ plan for the next week.

“The choice is absolutely critical for the future of our country,” Javid said. “One that will end the paralysis that we’ve all seen and get Brexit done – and I will answer your question.”

Barely 30 seconds into the interview, Kearney slammed Javid over this: “If you could rather than the pre-prepared sound bite that would be great.”

Nobody celebrates diversity more than the PM, says Sajid Javid.

Over the years Johnson has:
- Called Muslim women 'letterboxes'
- Called black Africans 'piccaninnies' with 'watermelon smiles'
- Called gay men 'bumboys'
-Said Islamophobia is only 'natural"https://t.co/6RSBcNd25e
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) December 5, 2019

Javid was also criticised for consistently deflecting questions put to him about the Conservative Party by bringing up Jeremy Corbyn.

Kearney told Javid “you did say you would answer my question” several times.

Elsewhere in the interview, Javid refused to write off the possibility of a no-deal exit.

David Gauke had previously admitted to Today that “the complexity and therefore the time needed to negotiate a trade deal doesn’t depend on the starting point of the relationship but the destination […] which means a deal will take time” and the foreign secretary Domic Raab also admitted it was on the table.

Javid then admitted to Kearney: “I think that situation is extremely remote […] but the real possibility of no-deal is if we get a hung parliament.”

At the end of the interview, Javid also refused to condemn the prime minister for comments he made about Muslim women.

Responding to the interview on Twitter, one person said: “Jeeeeez that wasn’t a car crash it was a multiple no-policy pile up, please end this my ears are bleeding”.

Chuka Umunna said: “Chancellor Sajid Javid is having a laugh! The Tories want a Canadian style EU trade deal which took 10 years to negotiate-only a fantasist would think it possible to do that in 11 months. We start from a position of convergence BUT the purpose of Brexit is to diverge.”