Susanna Reid has issued a warning to politicians after a private comment was accidentally aired live on television. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the Good Morning Britain presenter reflected on an incident involving Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick.
In July, Jenrick appeared on the ITV programme to discuss the early release prison scheme with Reid and co-host Ed Balls. As the conversation ended, someone was heard saying on a microphone: 'That was a waste of time.' It soon became clear the voice belonged to Jenrick.
Never alone with a microphone
During a panel discussion alongside news presenters Clive Myrie and Cathy Newman, Reid said: 'Okay, so a couple of things there. The first is you are never alone with a microphone, as many political figures have found out.'
She added: 'When you are mic'd up, what you say, Gordon Brown found out, obviously, in the car after he'd spoken to a constituent in an electoral campaign. Other politicians, other individuals have discovered you are never alone. When the microphone is on, don't assume it's been switched off.'
On-air reaction
Reid explained that she initially was not sure who had made the comment, but the production team quickly confirmed it was Jenrick. She said: 'And Ed immediately said, "I don't think it was a waste of time", and we decided to kind of report and acknowledge the fact that Robert Jenrick said it, because it's really important to back our viewers.'
The interview was booked to discuss the early prisoner release scheme, following public anger over the possible early release of two of PC Andrew Harper's killers. Reid also wanted to ask Jenrick about a video showing Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood laughing about early prisoner releases, for which they later apologised.
Jenrick's explanation
Reid noted that Jenrick later said on the Jeremy Kyle programme that the interview was a waste of time because he was not asked about Reform's economic policy. She said: 'But that wasn't the interview that he was booked to do, and I would have accepted if he had thought that we had squandered that opportunity.'
A week later, Jenrick returned to Good Morning Britain. Reid said: 'Those viewers deserve to hear from Reform. We know how significant they are in the polls. We know how important it is to hear and challenge their policies. It is not a waste of time.'
