“Errrrrr, didn’t answer the question”
Laura Kuenssberg was heard losing her patience with Boris Johnson’s refusal to answer a question at Wednesday’s press briefing.
The BBC’s Political Editor asked: “Should members of the public be booking summer holidays or not – whether at home or abroad? Because the transport secretary this morning warned people against booking anything at all.”
Her second question, aimed at Sir Patrick Vallance, asked how concerned he was about the potential of the Covid-19 variant that had emerged in Bristol.
Johnson then went on one of his classic rambles, sort of saying a lot of things without really saying anything at all.
“As you know, as everybody knows, it’s currently illegal to go on holiday. That’s the state of play at the moment,” Johnson said.
“We’re looking at the data every day. On Monday we’ll be able to say a little bit more about where we are in terms of the JCVI 1-4 group and where the data is then.
“The week of the 22nd, as I said, we’ll be setting out the roadmap. That is the best I can give. There’s not an awful long delay now, between now and the 22nd.
“But I hope we’ll be able to give some more clarity to people then.”
Sir Patrick Vallance then answered her other question, explaining that the Bristol variant has a similar characteristic to the South African one, and reiterated that vaccines remain effective against it.
With her two questions up, Johnson then moved on to Tom Clarke from ITV. But Kuenssberg did not mute her mic on Zoom, and could be heard saying “errrrr, didn’t answer the question,” appearing to mock Johnson’s tendency to stumble through answers.
You can watch the isolated clip below, or watch the full exchange here, between 17:50 and 20:53.
"Urghh didn't answer the question"@bbclaurak speaking for everyone watching the No10 press conference pic.twitter.com/44nwnnm8xj
— Joe Cook (@JoeCookJ) February 10, 2021
