Labour MP Clashes with BBC News Presenter

A Labour Peer used an interview on the BBC News Channel about MP expenses to attack the corporation over the amount it pays its staff.

Labour Peer Lord Foulkes used an interview on the BBC News Channel to attack the corporation for the amount it pays its staff. The Peer also attacked interviewer Carrie Gracie for the amount the corporation pays her. The Peer accused the media of whipping up a storm of the MP expenses controversy and for forgetting the good work done by MPs.

“MPs are paid £64,000 a year. How much are you paid for coming on television and harassing MPs and other people in this way. How much are you paid out of the licence fee?” Lord Foulkers on BBC News.

BBC News Presenter Carrie Gracie responded by stating she was paid over £90,000 by the BBC for her job. This prompted Foulkers to respond by saying “£92,000? So you’re paid nearly twice as much as an MP to come on and talk this nonsense.”. The BBC Presenter replied by saying that she didn’t charge the BBC for phone-calls and said she understood “what public sector money was about”

Having attacked his interviewer the Peer moved on to attack other BBC employees such as Jeremy Paxman and John Humphreys who Peers claimed undermined democracy. The attack by Foulkers is the latest twist in the MP expenses controversy which shows no signs of going away anytime soon. Last week The Daily Telegraph exposed some of the expenses claimed by Labour MP’s and this week the paper has turned its attention towards Tory MP’s – exposing the party as being no better than its rivals.

For our part we think BBC journalists are paid quite fairly for the job they do and while they may be paid more than the average MP they seemingly don’t make the public pay for swimming pools, gardening work, plumbing or brand new televisions out via extra expenses to do their job.