I watched Boris Johnson hide in a fridge - but the real story is much worse
The full story of what really happened on the day Boris Johnson hid in a fridge has finally been revealed.
Speaking on The Division Bell podcast, hosts John Stevens and Sam Lister explained how things actually got even worse for one of the No10 aides involved after the cameras stopped rolling.
During the 2019 election campaign, Mr Johnson made an early morning campaign stop at a dairy where he helped load bottles onto a milk cart. But he was ambushed by a film crew from Good Morning Britain after he had refused his promise to do an interview with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid ahead of the election.
One of Mr Johnson’s aides swore live on air after the cameraman and reporter caught them by surprise. The PM went into the fridge as he sought to avoid questions. John and Sam recalled how they had both been on the Tory battle bus tour in the final days before polling day. “We were there for that infamous morning at a dairy, I think it was Pudsey in West Yorkshire,” said John, who is now Political Editor of the Mirror. “It was early in the morning, I think we got up at like 4am or something.”
Sam, who is Political Editor of the Express, chipped in: “I think we were still bleary eyed around me and just very cold.”
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John added: “I can just remember it being so dark, we were in this pitch black farmyard somewhere. And then suddenly these TV cameras came on and Good Morning Britain were there to try and get this interview with Boris Johnson that he'd promised to do, but he didn't do. And so he went into the fridge. There was a No10 aide who was also caught off guard and accidentally swore on TV. We didn't quite realise what was happening and that it was going to become this big story.”
He went on: “We got bundled back on the bus. I remember looking on my phone and watching the live feed of Piers Morgan ranting on TV about what happened. And so the poor No10 aide got on the bus and obviously was getting loads of messages [from] the Tory campaign because he'd sworn on TV.”
John Stevens and Sam Lister on The Division Bell podcast
He continued: “And there's a bit of that story that people don't know. An added bit of how his day got even worse because at the dairy they kindly gave us these bottles, these pint bottles of milk that had milkshake inside, chocolate milkshake. I think some of them were strawberry.
“I think I had a strawberry one. So we got on the bus. I wrapped it in my coat and put my coat above the seats on the coach. And we got off at the next stop and I completely forgot that the milk was there, pulled the coat out from there, the milk bottle came down and the milkshake went all over the No10 aide, who had sworn on TV.
“So by 8am in the morning, not only had he sworn on TV, Boris Johnson had hidden in the fridge in a total disaster, he had been absolutely soaked in milkshake, so a pretty disastrous day.”
Sam added: “I think, to be fair, I think it was a very nice coat he was wearing that's probably been ruined.”
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