Michael Gove had an absolute nightmare on live radio after dodging questions on Islamophobia and Brexit
Michael Gove has had an absolute nightmare on his politics media round this morning.
The Tory cabinet minister did not seem well-prepared when he was challenged by BBC Radio 4’s Nick Robinson about various Conservative mistakes – from Boris Johnson’s failure to meet his “do or die” Brexit pledge to the Torry's failure to hold an inquiry into Islamophobia in the party.
When Robinson asked about the UK remaining in the EU after 31 October, a flustered Gove started to malfunction…
And when he was questioned about Islamophobia, the Tory MP went so far off-topic that Robinson had to cut him off and tell him: “That’s enough of the party election broadcast…”
Gove’s performance on Radio 4 got a typically negative response on social media.
His day didn’t get any better when he went on Sky News though, as Adam Boulton grilled him on why the Tories have not published their assessment of the economic impact of Johnson’s Brexit deal.
Boulton said:
You are asking people to vote Conservative for a pig in the poke on this. As David Gauke points out, we don't know what your assessment of the economic impact of what your plan is. You could have published it, you haven't.
Gove failed to justify the decision, claiming it was “pretty clear” already what the relationship with the EU would be after Brexit. (Spoiler: It’s not.)
Then on ITV News, the Tory minister floundered again when he was asked if he could name a single country that has negotiated a free trade deal with the EU in less than a year.
Despite Johnson claiming it is possible, Gove couldn’t name one example…
You might think the Conservative Party couldn’t have had a worse morning, but that’s not necessarily true… they could have let Jacob Rees-Mogg out again.
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