Andrew Neil hits back after Stan Collymore accuses BBC presenter of bias and being 'Conservative to his core' after Jeremy Corbyn interview

Jeremy Corbyn appears on BBC TV's The Andrew Neil Interviews in London on Tuesday night
via REUTERS
Ted Hennessey27 November 2019
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Ex-footballer Stan Collymore has accused Andrew Neil of being biased and "Conservative to his core" after the BBC presenter's interview with Jeremy Corbyn.

The former Liverpool striker hit out at Neil on Tuesday evening, saying the broadcaster worked with right wing newspaper proprietors that "polute (sic) the waters of democracy".

But Neil hit back, telling Collymore to "stick to kicking balls" and to do his "homework".

The spat came after an interview between Neil and Jeremy Corbyn, which saw the Labour leader refuse to apologise four times for anti-semitism in his party.

Collymore began by saying: "Tonight's Andrew Neil interview is a fascinating insight into him.

"Prepped? Yes Compelling? Yes Likeable? Yes Fundementally (sic) a Conservative to his core? Yes.

"In that context, he disappoints because ultimately his questions massively are bias towards his personal world view."

He also said: "I don't think you need to be Sherlock Holmes to see Andrew's core values lie."

Neil responded: "Oh yes. Because when I interviewed Boris Johnson during his Tory leadership bid I only asked him what his favourite colour was.

"Did you see my interview with Tory Liz Truss last week?

"I think you used to be a footballer. Stick to kicking balls."

He later added: "Delighted you want to be involved in politics. Get back to me when you’ve done your homework and know what you’re talking about. When it comes to me, you don’t. But since I’m not sure who you are it’s not a not a big deal."

During the BBC interview, Jeremy Corbyn refused to say if he would give the order for a leader of the Islamic State to be killed, and would not confirm his support for a Brexit deal negotiated by his own Government.

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