During a live interview, BBC Breakfast’s Jon Kay had to issue an apology after cutting off Patrick Hurley, MP for Southport.
The interruption occurred on Tuesday’s (21 January) show as they discussed the July 2024 attacks in Southport. The conversation came to an abrupt halt for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s live address from Downing Street.
Before the Prime Minister’s speech at 8:30 a.m, Jon had already given Patrick a heads-up, saying: “Apologies if we break away from the interview. We’re just expecting to go live to Downing Street to hear from the Prime Minister in a moment.”
However, despite the forewarning, Jon’s co-presenter Sally Nugent cut the segment with Patrick short, stating: “Patrick Hurley and we are going straight to Downing Street to the Prime Minister.”
He spoke about the Southport tragedy following Axel Rudakubana pleading guilty on Monday (20 January) for the killings of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar during a dance class held on 29 July 2024.
He admitted 16 charges, including the attempted murders of eight children and two adults, possession of a knife on the day of the murders, producing a biological toxin, ricin, and the possession of an al-Qaeda training manual.
During the broadcast live from Downing Street, the Prime Minister described the Southport incident as a “devastating moment in our history”, reports the Express.
“The tragedy of the Southport killings must be a line in the sand for Britain,” he declared. “We must make sure the names of those three young girls are not associated with the vile perpetrator, but instead with a fundamental change in how Britain protects its citizens and its children.”
He added: “In pursuit of that, we must, of course, ask and answer difficult questions, questions that should be far-reaching, unburdened by cultural or institutional sensitivities and driven only by the pursuit of justice.”
BBC Breakfast airs daily at 6am.