Resurfaced clip of Boris Johnson on his ‘strategy’ to confuse the media goes viral

An old interview in which the prime minister talks of his “brilliant new strategy” for confusing the media has resurfaced and gone viral.

The clip, from a 2006 broadcast of BBC's Booktalk, has garnered over two million views since it was posted to Twitter on Friday.

In the video, Boris Johnson said: "I've got a brilliant new strategy, which is to make so many gaffes that nobody knows which one to concentrate on.

"They cease to be newsworthy, you completely out-general the media in that way, and they despair.

"You shell them, you pepper the media... you've got to pepper their positions with so many gaffes that they're confused.

"It's like a helicopter throwing out chaff, and then you steal on quietly and drop your depth charges wherever you want to drop them."

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

The clip was recorded two years before the MP became London mayor in 2008, and 13 years before entering Number 10.

The BBC’s Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg included reference to the interview in a new column.

She wrote that he’s had to “wriggle through controversies” before, and shared the clip of him “confessing to his strategy many years ago”.

She added: “He's the PM, not the London mayor or a backbench MP, and his leadership has been significantly damaged in the past couple of months.

“Getting through this is not just going to be about wisecracks here and there.”

Since the video made its way onto social media, it has attracted its fair share of views and comments.

Former Conservative MP Rory Stewart weighed in, and likened Johnson to former US President Donald Trump.

Stewart stood against Johnson in the last leadership election in 2019 and has made his views on the prime minister very clear.

Retweeting the video, he wrote: “Boris Johnson’s idea of producing another scandal or outrage every week, refusing to ever resign + thus exhausting and bewildering your critics - was central to Donald Trump’s approach. And to the populist style worldwide. But it is vital to call it out + reject it. #disgusting”.

Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden commented: “Oh my… can even the most ardent Boris supporter step forward and defend this. We are being played… horses mouth. [sic]”.

Indy100 has contacted Number 10 for comment.

Enjoyed this article? Then click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help it rise through the indy100 rankings and have your say in our news democracy.