Video
Downing St switchboard flooded after Gove tells people to call about Neil interview
Michael Gove caused a glut of calls to Downing Street after he asked people to call in if they wanted to know why the prime minister isn't facing up to the Andrew Neil interview. Picture: BBC - Credit: BBC
After Boris Johnson reportedly confirmed he will not be doing the Andrew Neil interview, Michael Gove asked listeners to call the Downing Street office if they want to know why he isn't doing it.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Gove was challenged on why the prime minister is ducking one of the fiercest interviewers, and gave out the Downing Street phone number saying he's "not the prime minister's diary secretary".
Gove gave the telephone number out in response to a request to rate, on a scale of one to 10, the chances of the prime minister facing Neil's scrutiny. "That number would be: 0207 930 4433, that's the Downing Street number, and if you ring the prime minister's diary secretary she will know what the prime minister is going to do. I'm not the prime minister's diary secretary."
"You could have caused some problems there, you might jam the switchboard," commented 5 Live host Chris Warburton.
Indeed, after 5 Live journalist Calum McDonald amplified the message in a tweet, gambit appears to have caused chaos at No. 10.
You may also want to watch:
"I just called this number; the guy who answered the phone said they can't give out any PM diary info and that he didn't know why Gove had given out this number," tweeted musician Steven Adams. "And then he hung up."
Writer @Zoah_HS tweeted: "My mother just called Downing Street and a lovely young man said that they are 'rather inundated with calls' due to this."
Most Read
- 1 Brexiteer Prue Leith quits Tory Party after government votes down motion to protect UK food standards
- 2 Brexit shambles: A stress of our own making
- 3 Group in protest against Tory MPs who voted down free school meals targets offices with empty plates
- 4 Priti Patel set to hand private firms £28 million in government contracts to deport asylum seekers from UK
- 5 Public slams Brexit Party tweet which shames Tory MPs who voted against free school meals
- 6 Tory minister blames journalists for NHS Test and Trace failure as he defends Dido Harding
- 7 These are the 322 Tory MPs who voted against extending free school meals to children
- 8 Michel Barnier postpones Brussels return as Brexit trade talks in London continue
- 9 Betty Boothroyd delivers scathing assessment of Boris Johnson's government
- 10 Boris Johnson and Priti Patel urged to end 'attacks' on lawyers in letter by 800 legal professionals
Callers are now greeted with a voice message prior to getting through that says: "We are unable to give out any information relating to the prime minister's diary."
Buzzfeed's Alex Wickham earlier today reported a 'senior Conservative source' as confirming the prime minister will reject the interview.
The source reportedly said that instead of talking to Neil, "the PM will focus on talking to voters about their priorities including investing in our NHS and helping with the cost of living".
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
