Peter Bleksley has made a public apology on GB News, one week after calling presenter Alexander Armstrong "pathetic" and a "coward" for saying he would not be willing to fight for Britain in a future war.
Appearing on Sunday's show, the former Metropolitan Police detective addressed his outburst directly. "Please forgive me if I pause for one minute before I answer your question. Last week, on your show, I spoke to you in a very abrupt and aggressive manner, which wasn't nice," he said.
Private Conversation and Apology
Bleksley acknowledged that the pair had held a private conversation about the incident, which he said would remain private. He added: "However, for the manner in which I spoke to you last weekend, I'm saying I'm very sorry, and I'll do my best to be more pleasant from here on."
Armstrong accepted the apology, replying: "Peter, you're a good man. Thank you very much. I'll always shake your hand, as we did last week, and we'll leave it there." He added: "That's it, we're grown-ups. We move on, we get on with the show. I've got great respect for you – we have a great time on the show together. We've worked on this show together for almost two years."
Background to the Clash
In the original row, Armstrong, 35, justified his comments by discussing "what's actually going on in the minds of young people across this country". He said: "They have never had it so difficult – they haven't, and I know a lot of people at home will roll their eyes, but I speak to those kids day in and day out."
He continued: "They are struggling, and they are constantly being told: taxed more, you're never going to get a home, your rents are through the roof, your energy bills, your food prices. So basically, what I'm saying to people at home is that I want to fight for my country, and I would love to be in a position in a few years' time where the Government's fixed a lot of problems back here. We need to fix Britain – we have a duty to our people first. This is the problem."
Armstrong concluded by thanking Bleksley for his contributions to the show and for the apology, which he deemed "unnecessary".
