Gordon 'fearty' Brown

Paul Waugh in The Standard wonders 'Is Brown running scared of a Paxo stuffing?'. He notes that

'Word reaches me that the Prime Minister has not agreed to take part in the traditional in-depth interview with Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman during the general election.

Despite repeated requests from the programme, Number 10 have failed to commit to the grilling that previous premiers have faced.'

He reports that

'A senior Whitehall source confirms that the PM has not given the green light. “We are dragging our feet, that’s right. But we are dragging our feet with all of the BBC bids - we have about 17 different requests for interviews for the election,” my source says.

“Taking time out to do half-hour TV interviews has a real impact on the campaign. It’s not just the airtime, it takes a lot of time to prepare for Paxman, for example.”'

Forget the excuses, if Gordon Brown fails to appear on Newsnight for the traditional joust with Jeremy Paxman then it will be clear to all that he deserves his moniker 'FEARTY'.