Lee Rowley became the first minister to be grilled by Kay Burley in a week.
A government minister has finally been interviewed by Kay Burley for the first time in a week.
In an apparent U-turn, Lee Rowley was put up by Downing Street to face the Sky News presenter.
He was the first Tory frontbencher to do so since Huw Merriman’s car crash interview with Burley last Tuesday.
The transport minister was mocked after he said satirical Radio Four show The News Quiz showed that the BBC is biased.
HuffPost UK revealed yesterday how, in a highly unusual move, ministers had been blocked from facing Burley since Merriman’s nightmare performance.
Before today, the last time a government representative had appeared on Sky’s breakfast show had been last Friday – Burley’s day off.
And yesterday, while health secretary Victoria Atkins was interviewed on a range of TV and radio broadcasters, she was not on Sky News.
A No10 source insisted there was nothing unusual about the arrangement, telling HuffPost UK that morning broadcast interview rounds are alternated on a daily and weekly basis.
However, asked directly whether ministers have been effectively banned from being interviewed by Kay Burley, they did not comment.
During his 10-minute interrogation this morning, Rowley mentioned the cost of the BBC licence fee.
In a reference to the Merriman interview, Burley said: “Let’s not go there, shall we? You can if you want but I didn’t think I was going to today.”
And at the end of the interview, Burley told the minister: “I’d better let you go because I’m on my best behaviour today.”
