‘Embarrassed’ Laura Kuenssberg cancels Boris interview after she sent him her briefing notes

The BBC has been forced to cancel a Laura Kuenssberg interview with Boris Johnson after she sent him her briefing notes “by mistake”.

Kuenssberg was due to meet the former Prime Minister for an interview to be broadcast on BBC One on Thursday night.

But in a statement on X, she announced: “While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team. That obviously means it’s not right for the interview to go ahead.

“It’s very frustrating, and there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing, as there are plenty of important questions to be asked. But red faces aside, honesty is the best policy. See you on Sunday.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “Tomorrow’s interview with Boris Johnson won’t be going ahead. As Laura has explained, interview briefing notes meant for colleagues were inadvertently shared with him.

“This makes an interview tomorrow untenable. Under the circumstances, both the BBC and Mr Johnson’s team have agreed this is the best way forward.”

The interview was to promote Mr Johnson’s new memoir, Unleashed.

The book has already been heavily trailed in the media. In it, Mr Johnson says he is no longer sure that lockdowns – which he described as “literally medieval in their savagery and consequences” – played a decisive role in defeating Covid.

He accuses Rishi Sunak of ending his political career by assassinating him like Brutus killing Julius Caesar, saying that he had previously considered Mr Sunak to be a “friend and partner”.

Mr Johnson also claims that he was asked by Buckingham Palace to stop ‘Megxit’ by persuading the Duke of Sussex not to leave the UK, and agreed to give him a “manly pep talk”.

Sources close to the Duke confirmed that Mr Johnson did suggest that the couple stay in the UK, but sources with knowledge of such meetings insisted that the Palace did not ask Mr Johnson to intervene.