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Adam Boulton regrets on-air spat with Alastair Campbell

Emily Ashton
Tuesday 01 June 2010 05:13 EDT
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Broadcaster Adam Boulton expressed regret today over a furious on-air spat with Labour's former head of communications, Alastair Campbell.

The Sky News political editor was involved in the fiery exchange in a live interview two weeks before the General Election.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "Of course I regret showing a little bit more temper than was necessary."

Mr Campbell had accused the broadcaster of treating then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown as "dead meat" and said he was "obviously upset that David Cameron is not Prime Minister".

A clearly angry Mr Boulton responded: "I'm not upset. You keep casting aspersions... Don't keep telling me what I think. I'm fed up with you telling me what I think, I don't think that."

Mr Boulton told Today: "Here we had an unelected person who actually didn't even have a job in the Labour team who was coming out and, before the Cabinet had met, telling us what the Government was going to do.

"And once I tried making these points to him he turned nasty and attacked my integrity."

He said the exchange had reminded him of former Today presenter Brian Redhead interviewing Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson in 1987 - when Mr Lawson accused the broadcaster of being a life-long Labour supporter.

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