Michael Gove got stuck in a BBC lift and Twitter didn’t have much sympathy

Michael Gove’s efforts to “level up” hit a snag after he was trapped in a BBC lift for more than 30 minutes.

The Levelling Up secretary’s appearance on Radio 4 was delayed as a result of the mishap at Broadcasting House.

After he was rescued, the Surrey Heath MP joked that the incident may have provided inspiration for a new episode of the BBC-based satire W1A.

Gove told the programme: “After more than half an hour in the lift, you successfully levelled me up, so I’m delighted to be here.”

He acknowledged “these sorts of things happen, and if you and I together have given ammunition for (Thick Of It creator) Armando Iannucci or for the next episode of W1A, then fine.”

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When presenter Nick Robinson told him that a “free Michael Gove” hashtag was circulating on Twitter, Gove quipped: “I suspect there were rather more people hoping I would be incarcerated for longer.”

Earlier, Robinson had told listeners: “Mr Gove is stuck in the Broadcasting House lift. I wish I could say this is a joke, it is not a joke and it is not very funny for Mr Gove and the security man, who have been stuck there for some time.”

The presenter suggested it was proof that “W1A is not, in fact, a satirical programme”.

Hilariously, Gove later revealed on LBC that he texted BBC chairman Richard Sharp in order to be freed from the lift.

He said: “He made sure that a crack engineering team were dispatched. As someone pointed out, even though we had to wait half an hour, eventually I was levelled up.”

Gove added it was “very good advice from both a health and a safety point of view” to take the stairs out of the building.

It’s fair to say Twitter enjoyed the housing secretary’s Monday morning mishap, with people taking to social media to share their reactions.

One even jokingly congratulated the BBC for their great work in trapping Gove:

Given he acknowledged it was like a scene from The Thick of It or W1A, it seems Gove is being a good sport about it.

With reporting from PA.