BL-24 - Flipbook - Page 35
TA B L E TA L K
proper meal and would therefore allow
you to go to a restaurant or pub to
meet with friends.
minutes – I will focus on the part
that is recycled endlessly on TV clip
shows.
To this day, I don’t know where the
idea of a scotch egg came from, but I
decided to test this particular dish on
Mr. Gove and ask him whether that
constituted a meal. His reply was he
“would de昀椀nitely scoff two scotch
eggs as a starter, but it’s not a main
course.”
As Shadow Home Secretary, Ms.
Abbott was on to say a Labour
government, if elected, would recruit
an additional 10,000 police of昀椀cers.
Squeamish readers, look away.
This appeared to be totally contrary to
government policy. So, within an hour,
and after having scotch eggs waved
at him by Piers Morgan on TV, Mr.
Gove had decreed scotch eggs to be a
“substantial meal”.
“Well, umm, err, if we recruit them
over a four-year period, we believe it
will be about £300,000.”
The following day’s newspaper
cartoon showing Mr. Gove with two
scotch eggs in place of his eyes still
hangs in my hallway.
I started by asking her how much
10,000 police of昀椀cers would cost.
This clearly needed challenging.
“£300,000 for 10,000 of昀椀cers! What
are you paying them?”
“No, I’m sorry, I mean, umm, er…”
time for the jugular.
“I can assure you it wasn’t, as I wrote
it down as you told me. Has this been
adequately thought through?”
As the interview careened further off
course, the number of of昀椀cers to be
hired ranged from 250,000 to 2,250
before mercifully, for everyone’s
sakes, it reached its conclusion.
Ms. Abbott never did get to be Home
Secretary, so that unknown number
of of昀椀cers with variable salaries was
never recruited.
Readers of a certain vintage might
remember a TV show from some years
back called Kids Say The Funniest
Things. Anyone up for a re-boot? Only
this time it’ll be called Politicians Say
The Stupidest Things.
I repeated the question. She was
‘Michael Gove Grilled on UK Lockdown’ an interview with Nick Ferrari
昀氀oundering.
6) Diane Abbott
I have saved the best (or maybe the
worst) interview until last, and it is the
one I am reminded about most often.
We go back to the 2017 General
Election and – as this painful
exchange went on for around four
“They will cost, they will cost, umm,
er…it will cost about £80 million.”
“‘About!’ But £80 million divided by
10,000 is £8,000. Is that what these
of昀椀cers are going to be paid?”
“No. We will be paying them…er, it
was you who said £80 million.”
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BOISDALELIFE.COM
ISSUE 24
LBC’s Headline image: ‘Diane Abbott’s
Agonising Interview’
