Richard Madeley sparks outrage after asking a Ukrainian MP about 'shooting somebody dead'

Everyone's favourite tactless TV presenter is back at it again - can you guess who we are talking about?

Richard Madeley, of course.

This morning, he was interviewing Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko about her decision to move her children out of the country then return herself to help resist Russian advances when he decided to be very blunt indeed and quiz her about her decision to arm himself.

“Can I ask you a very difficult, personal question?” he said.

“You are a cultured, civilised human being, you’re a democratically elected MP, you’re a mother of three as we said, and you now have an AK47 propped up in the corner and you’re said you’re prepared to use it.

“Can I just ask you about that last bit? Are you really capable as the person as I’ve just described, the person looking down a barrel of a rifle and shooting somebody dead?”

Sign up for our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

“The AK47 sits in the other room,” the MP replied as she held up another gun to the screen.

“I have another gun which I carry with me all the time, I sleep with it, I go to the bathroom with it. Do I have a choice? No, I do not have a choice.

“When I have reports every single day coming in from Russian soldiers roaming through our villages and the streets of all kinds of towns, breaking into people’s houses and just shooting at people because they are moving targets, then no, I do not have a choice.”

“As I said I am pro-life,” the MP explained. “I want to live, I want my children to live and I want my nation to live.The best way I can guarantee that is if I also stay alive and safe.

“This is why I have these guns, I don’t even think about the moment when I will have to use them.

“The only mantra I’ve had is if danger comes, I’ll pull the trigger."

It comes as the war in Ukraine enters its 12th day with Ukrainian president Zelensky addressing the nation last night calling on the west to do more to support their efforts.

Another round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is due today, officials say. However, in a phone conversation with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Putin said the conflict would only stop if Ukraine stopped fighting and Russia’s demands were met.

The Russian president also said Ukraine’s negotiators should take a more “constructive” approach in talks with Moscow to take into account the reality on the ground. Ukraine has said it is not willing to compromise on its territorial integrity.

People reacted angrily to Madeley's blunt line of questioning:

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.