I have managed to get hold of a copy, which you can see here, of my lengthy interview with Sky News about the Skripals yesterday, which Sky refused to put online because they allege I was boring. With the warning you might therefore be very bored, you may watch it if you wish.
Kay Burley then appeared to suggest in reply to persistent questioning from Teymoor Nabili that Sky News could not put the interview online as they did not record it and do not hold a copy, which is plainly untrue (and would be illegal under their broadcast license).
My perspective on the interview itself was that the interviewer became aggressive and sarcastic, increasingly shrill as the apparent effort to discredit me was not going well, and resorting eventually to asking about any old extraneous matter but the Skripals. I strongly suspect it was not me being boring, but the strange performance by Kay Burley, which motivated Sky to bury the interview.
But you must judge for yourself.
It is my policy when invited by journalists, to give considered and courteous answers to the particular questions which they ask. This is as opposed to what politicians do, which is to spout pre-prepared soundbites irrespective of what they are asked.
I appreciate that mine is a very old-fashioned approach, and may lead you to be frustrated about areas I did not cover. I also make no attempt to look slick or sound glib. I realise in this modern age that may not be good PR, but my belief remains that in the long term people will see me as a polite and thoughtful old gentleman, and feel less disposed to share the obvious contempt towards me of the media and politician classes.
tonight’s Newsnight quotes a respected chemist as saying that the chemical could have been manufactured by a number of different sources. Newsnight’s Gatehouse stresses that the chemist is well respected and level-headed. Things are getting seriously out of control (for the establishment). Hold on tight folks …
That has been the massive hole in the Governments story since day 1. The fact that only Russia could have produced this stuff is a blatant and egregious lie. The fact that its those propagandist shills on Newsnight “announcing” it is telling. This Government is going down
“announcing it to mainstream joe public” that should be
14:35 Kay says it’s not a 16 minute video! But it is!
And WTF have I just watched
she said its the 16th question ie its part of the interview not something of an after thought. craig stating it was a long interview – longer than 3 minutes.
craigs point is that its been tacked on the end w/out context to offer the govt narrative some value.
I think the whole interview was an attempt at counter striking Craig over his claims of the edited interview with Aitkinhead.
She starts with some questions about the subject then says something I found very unusual, she tells Craig that they had plenty of time!
This is very unusual for a TV interview nowadays, with leading politicians often having to get their soundbites in quickly because of the shortage of time. (or rather blab on for a few minutes to get the interview over before any damage is done)
So Craig is given plenty of time, but then Burley turns the interview into a defence of Sky’s interview tactics.
She starts going on about how Craig has been complimentary about the Sky interview to her, but that he had been critical in other places, therefore insinuating that Craig was two-faced, as soon as Craig began to explain in more detail she moved the interview on, waffling about heavy cameras, as she carries out the unmistakable tactic of turning to the camera to speak to viewers, getting them on her/Sky’s side. Laurel and Hardy were fantastic at this!
It’s telling that as Craig begins to speak as she does this, she immediately assumes he is challenging her about it (when he clearly isn’t) so she answers that although Craig may know how cameras work her viewers wont, and this is why she turned to them.
The whole interview was bizarre, leaving Burley looking like a complete amatuer, and as others have said, this was the real reason Sky pulled the whole thing.
Not boring at all. Your points about video editing are self-evident and correct. I am typing this message on a PC with professional video + audio editing software applications onboard which I use to make a living. Within ten feet of where I am sitting are cameras and tripods as well. When you edit a long interview to fit a short slot available within a news programme, you have to have a strategy to meet the producer’s objectives and agendas, and you are told which cherries to pick. Such is the nature of editing. The team must have spent half an hour or possibly quite a lot longer recording the interview. The jump cut at the end of what was broadcast certainly does look like an add-on afterthought, not least because it is a statement, not an answer to a question. The talk of tripods was idle and irrelevant.
You made Kay B. uncomfortable for sure, and probably the producer speaking into her earpiece from the control-room was probably very anxious as well. Interesting that the interviewer pushed the agenda hard that Sergei Skribal was in a coma fighting for his life, yet we have heard since that he is actually doing rather well and that the only casualties were two deceased guinea pigs.
Well done. You held your own fantastically well while you were in the lion’s den. I hope others go all the way through your interview. Bravo.
p.s. I can understand why they decided not to give you the time and space you deserved.
This whole charade has been set up! Anyone else think for the purpose of causing major civil disobedience across Europe and the US possibly civil war?
It’s like watching a really shit mockumentary!! Someone is having a serious laugh at our expense! But what to do about it possibly too late. As Jezza said in 2003 “invading Iraq will set off a chain of events…….”
I used to say up the Revolution but actually I’m beginning to think living in ignorance is the way forward
Excellent stuff Craig – Kay B may well have wanted to hide her performance – which is woeful. Thank you for your measured view – very interesting
Indeed!
Newsnight now trying to sell the idea that maybe Novichok isn’t so deadly after all; because when reality takes a shit on your hard spun narrative you simply redefine reality.
Hiroshima was a city of 340,000 people, when America dropped an atom bomb on it more than half of them survived.
Maybe atom bombs aren’t so deadly after all.
Fred, What does that even mean?
Atom bombs can’t be deadly if people survive them can they?
This is a false analogy. If nobody died , let alone 170,000 people then your argument may be relevant. In the case of novichok, 3 out of 3 survived this deadliest of poisons. Is this a momentary lapse Fred?
Total Blinder from Craig.
” I was in the Foreign Office when he had Intelligence”
Then Craig goes in for the attack…gets even closer to the camera, and lays it out straight.
Iraq’s WMD’s were a comple pack of lies.
Watch it. I am not a stenographer, and I am not going to translate it.
Buy it – I did – It’s a Page turner. The second most exciting book I have ever read.
“Murder in Samarkand – A British Ambassador’s Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror Paperback – 1 Feb 2007”
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Samarkand-Ambassadors-Controversial-Defiance/dp/1845962214
Excellent Finish by Craig.
“If its proven in the Fullness of Time That Russia was not Responsible – Should The Prime Minister Resign?”
Kay Burley was being Graceful There, and allowed Craig Murray To Reply.
I hope they both had a nice cool drink together afterwards….except Craig was in his flat in Edinburgh.
Tony
it is very obvious that sound bites are wanted, sensationalism sells and kay burley is the worst interviewer in the history of post-brass eye television news. If you wrote her dialogue as a part in a comedy sketch you would be reprimanded for portraying her as unprofessional and clearly uninformed and ill prepared. having to continually bring the presenter back to reality is a new low in tv news. The line of questioning that sought a definite statement on issues and facts of specialized and classified information was bordering on the surreal.
I don’t know but perhaps they don’t want people in their programs saying “I don’t know”.
What I find most annoying in this story is not the lack of evidence. The most disturbing thing is that the ultimate accusation that Putin (or as they say the Kremlin) ordered the assassination is not just unproven, is unprovable (after all, half a century of historical research didn’t find evidence that Hitler ordered the Holocaust). I think a lot of people are put off because they somehow sense that by making wild unprovable accusations the government and the media effectively are saying ‘you should believe what we tell you’.
It was the interviewer who was bored. She was basically going through the motion.
shes always like that. same script for each interviewee they want to undermine
Kay Burley is very fit, dances and is full of herself.
Personally, I prefer Maria Zacharova. She is much Brighter in an Interview. Far better looking in Appearence, and she can also Dance.
Can we do a swap with The Russians…???
Putin can have Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Gavin Williamson and Kay Burley in exchange for Maria Zacharova
“Kalinka groove! Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in fiery Russian folk dance”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vXWNLsq8Lw
She is my kind of girl.
Tony
Brilliant! Count that as a win for Russia! Thanks for that link, Tony 🙂
How about Elena Vaenga?
Or this amazing video by the Georgian Keti Topuria?
And…er…Jane Austen against Fyodor Dostoevsky???
Yes, Maria Zakharova is really naturally beautiful.
And the Kalinka she does is just a treat, if I may say so.
I had seen that video before Tony… At that time i Did Not pay much attention to the very Muscled legs.
Indeed Tony…
I had seen this video before…BUT WoW… I did not notice the Leg Mucles
Thanks Tony!
How about another match up
Lavrov vs Johnson
The Lion and the Cretin
God it makes you so proud to be British!
The genius of this is that Sky have failed journalistically and cinematically.
Burley is desperate to get you to apologise for saying the last shot of the interview with Aitkenhead was ‘…a very bad edit and clearly tacked on’ when, any amateur filmmaker could tell you, it absolutely WAS a very bad edit and unbelievably amateurishly tacked on.
Not only that, paranoid Burley seems to think you’re accusing Sky of doctoring the interview when clearly you were hinting that a government adviser was probably in the room.
Its hilarious that she tries to mock you over your lack of experience in broadcasting when you look at how badly that interview was conducted. There are only 3 shots in it. The second is slightly zoomed in and the last one is two feet back and one foot to the left.
I don’t know if Disney will be able to cope with the Kubrick-esque production values of Sky News.
“I strongly suspect it was not me being boring, but the strange performance by Kay Burley, which motivated Sky to bury the interview.”
Only one of you was an actor.
It seems apparent to me that Kay Burley ‘lost it’ towards the end of the interview as she couldn’t get Craig Murray to say something which might exonerate the tory government. He gave his view on the whole situation without any embellishment. SKY probably withdrew the interview because there was nothing to bash Corbyn in it, indeed it actually demonstrated that his approach was correct (again).
Craig, her comment about ‘the ribbon in her hair’ tells you all you need to know about these contemptuous people and how seriously they take their business. Her studiously posed selfie is indubitably more profound and vital to her than your professional experience.
What on earth was that? She clearly didn’t get a the point CM was trying to make about edits, and though Sky was being attacked- it was not all CM said, so far as I understand, was that Sky was *asked* to tuck that piece on the end. Lady doth protest too much, methinks!
If I could like that more than once I would keep going till I fell asleep or got arrested, well done bravely and competently well done. That Essex Girl anchor behaved like a female Kevin being grounded by her dad. I’m sure the unconscionable upstart will go far at mcmurdoch international.Please more, Thankyou Mr Craig.
she’s from Wigan
CM shouldn’t have folded so quickly to her! What I would’ve said was that if you say you had two cameras rolling, upload the raw footage of the interview from *both* cameras and let the public judge…
If I could like that more than once I would keep going till I fell asleep or got arrested, well done ,bravely and competently well done. That Essex Girl anchor vipered like a female Kevin being grounded by her dad. I’m sure the unconscionable upstart will go far at mcmurdoch international.Please more, Thankyou Mr Craig.
Is this how interviews are normally produced?? Who would air this? She totally fluffed it, like a half arsed rehearsal.
Well then, that was mixed – on her part anyway.
From reasonably polite to snooty, patronising and condescending.
Luke Harding, Andrew Roth and Ben Quinn in the Guardian:
“A Foreign Office spokesman said the government was pleased that the Skripals were in better health but added: ‘Let us be clear, this was attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon that we know Russia possesses.’”
What do they mean by the word “but”?!
These fine specimens of journalism also say that “Moscow (…) will probably want to bring Yulia Skripal back to Russia” Who wouldn’t want to go home? Has “London” offered her asylum? Or do they just want to interview her, and what Tory poshboys want, Tory poshboys are accustomed to getting?
“‘It appears the Russian state is trying to use Victoria as a pawn,’ a government source told the BBC, adding: ‘If she is being influenced or coerced by the Kremlin, she has become another victim.’”
How rude! To summarise what we have here: the government of Britain, a nuclear power, is briefing anonymously against a private Russian citizen, about whom the main things that are known are that she would like to visit her cousin who has supposedly been attacked with nerve gas in Britain, she has applied for a visa to come and do so, and she has been refused because her application doesn’t comply with immigration rules, whatever on Earth that might mean.
It probably won’t be long before “government spokesmen” brief anonymously against Yulia Skripal. Sooner or later they will have to kill her, let her go back to Russia, or offer her asylum.
A “pawn”? Why is the “move” of a visit by Viktoria Skripal to her cousin in a Salisbury hospital so threatening to the British government?
The ignorant and ill-mannered Kay Burley thinks Skripal was KGB (and a KGB “agent” to boot); she thinks Ukraine is an “ally” of Britain; she seems to think “Novichok” is a biological weapon that comes in “strains”, not a chemical one; she thinks Sergei Skripal is in a coma; she couldn’t understand a lot of what Craig said, and she was cocky with it. She really is asking for a slapdown.
Having some sneery-toned moron like that be so rude to me the whole time, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my temper. So hats off to you, @Craig 🙂
to me she came across as being high.
What I have described in the past as “that combination of arrogance and ignorance that I find impossible to take”.
Yes. That is outrageous. The British government has become an immoral pit. Time to rise and get rid of it.
Wow, how amazing is Kay, she appears to be only nine inches tall and still in the sixth form, but holds down such an important role at Sky and I thought Heather Nauert was the new kid on the block.
This is unfortunately what happens when people start getting near the truth , it turns broadcasters into paranoid attack drones because we all know what this “could” mean and the usual niceties , the nods the winks are not there to fall back on . I think you deserve some sort of merit badge , to achieve that amount of lucidity under fire like that .. Kudos to you and a massive black mark for the interviewer , I wouldn`t have wanted to be her significant other , when she finally went home !
Well done Craig. Excellent answers and reasonsable discourse. Burley summed up in her response to you: ‘Dunno’ Thick woman
Pure gold.
Just checked out the Aitkenhead sky interview.
The first (short) video version I found on https://news.sky.com showed some minor changes in camera angle (like someone was fiddling needlessly with the tripod throughout the interview). However I saw nothing obviously dodgy as Craig described. Sorry, but for a moment I even started to believe Kay Burley had some realistic criticism.
The second longer version I saw on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R23AQAFvZ-4! Ha-ha-ha.
I was waiting for something subtle! The majority of the interview Gary’s head nearly filled the screen then suddenly there is out of context bit about probably only nation states being capable of making novochoc. It’s like the camera person filmed that section with a fish eye lens rather than the previous close up telephoto shot.
It is the only element of the interview filmed from that weird perspective.
I’m really doubting Kay Burley’s story of their being two cameras running throughout the interview.
However, she does have a dominatrix style persona in those tweets I strangely enjoy 😉
Edited Porton Down interview
https://youtu.be/twh0vRUF9zY
Hi Craig,
Having just watched all 18 minutes of your interview with Kay Surley I can honestly say it was very interesting and not boring in any way.
Kay was condescending from the start and I really admired your restraint. I wouldn’t have been as polite!
You are really on to something here. Don’t let up. Most people I speak to think there’s something not right here but all we hear on the media is Russia Russia Russia.
Change is not far over the horizon.
Warmest regards,
Carl
Got to love the theatre of suddenly having all kinds of police doing all kinds of police stuff after a couple of weeks of inactivity. All for the cameras, nothing more.
Think it was buried,Craig,because the answers you gave were calm,balanced,considered,informed and articulate[think you were supposed to froth at the mouth].This is not msm/bbc material.We would be living in a different world if it was.Scarey.