This has amused me this morning, BBC correspondent Nick Robinson was filming a link for the BBC on Wednesday when a protestor decided to put his placard right behind him on a live link to the studio. Sadly Nick didn’t like this very much and lost his temper and it has become a bit of a YouTube hit.
He has posted about it yesterday on his blog which says:
If you were watching the 6 O’Clock News last night, you may have seen a “Troops Out” sign on a large pole being waved behind my head.
I have a confession. After the news was over, I grabbed the sign and ripped it up – apparently you can watch video of my sign rage in full glorious technicolour on the web. I lost my temper and I regret that. However, as I explained afterwards to the protesters who disrupted my broadcast, there are many opportunities to debate whether the troops should be out of Afghanistan without the need to stick a sign on a long pole and wave it in front of a camera.
I am a great believer in free speech but I also care passionately about being able to do my job reporting and analysing one of the most important political stories for years.
