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| You should have heard Jeremy Paxman grill Gandhi | You should have heard Jeremy Paxman grill Gandhi |
| (4 months later) | |
| Tim Peake, the British astronaut who is due to spend six months on the Soyuz space station in 2015, became one of Jeremy Paxman's least likely victims in a combative interview on Newsnight in which the presenter suggested that space travel was merely a waste of taxpayers' money. "What's the point?", Paxo wearily asked. "You're just drifting around, aren't you?". Here are the transcripts of some other Newsnight interviews you may have missed. | Tim Peake, the British astronaut who is due to spend six months on the Soyuz space station in 2015, became one of Jeremy Paxman's least likely victims in a combative interview on Newsnight in which the presenter suggested that space travel was merely a waste of taxpayers' money. "What's the point?", Paxo wearily asked. "You're just drifting around, aren't you?". Here are the transcripts of some other Newsnight interviews you may have missed. |
| Gandhi, wishy-washy liberal | Gandhi, wishy-washy liberal |
| Paxman: So, Mr Gandhi, you're an advocate of non-violent protest? | Paxman: So, Mr Gandhi, you're an advocate of non-violent protest? |
| Gandhi: Yes. | Gandhi: Yes. |
| Paxman: Isn't that just a cop-out? | Paxman: Isn't that just a cop-out? |
| Gandhi: I'm sorry? | Gandhi: I'm sorry? |
| Paxman: It's all very well you wandering around barefooted and claiming the moral high ground, but isn't it about time you stood up for what you believe? | Paxman: It's all very well you wandering around barefooted and claiming the moral high ground, but isn't it about time you stood up for what you believe? |
| Gandhi: I'm not following you… | Gandhi: I'm not following you… |
| Paxman: Let me put it another way then, if I may, Mr Gandhi. We can all look good by saying we don't like this and we don't like that, but doesn't there come a time when enough is enough and you have to fight force with force? | Paxman: Let me put it another way then, if I may, Mr Gandhi. We can all look good by saying we don't like this and we don't like that, but doesn't there come a time when enough is enough and you have to fight force with force? |
| Gandhi: Er… | Gandhi: Er… |
| Paxman: Take the Nazis. If Britain had followed your example of non-violent protest in 1939 then the whole of Europe would have fallen to Hitler. Would that have benefited the world in any way… | Paxman: Take the Nazis. If Britain had followed your example of non-violent protest in 1939 then the whole of Europe would have fallen to Hitler. Would that have benefited the world in any way… |
| Gandhi: Er… | Gandhi: Er… |
| Paxman: Answer the question. Yes or no, Mr Gandhi? | Paxman: Answer the question. Yes or no, Mr Gandhi? |
| Gandhi: No. | Gandhi: No. |
| Paxman: Thank you. Moving on. You once went on a 21-day fast. Is that a good example to be setting to young girls who are suffering from eating disorders? | Paxman: Thank you. Moving on. You once went on a 21-day fast. Is that a good example to be setting to young girls who are suffering from eating disorders? |
| Churchill, windbag | Churchill, windbag |
| Paxman: You say you have nothing to offer but blood, tears, toil and sweat. That doesn't sound like a particularly inspiring manifesto, Mr Churchill. Why should anyone take any notice of you? | Paxman: You say you have nothing to offer but blood, tears, toil and sweat. That doesn't sound like a particularly inspiring manifesto, Mr Churchill. Why should anyone take any notice of you? |
| Churchill: Never in the whole field of human conflict… | Churchill: Never in the whole field of human conflict… |
| Paxman: You're avoiding the question, Mr Churchill. Can we just go through your proposals one by one? You say you have nothing to offer but blood. Whose blood exactly? | Paxman: You're avoiding the question, Mr Churchill. Can we just go through your proposals one by one? You say you have nothing to offer but blood. Whose blood exactly? |
| Churchill: We shall fight them in the beaches, we shall fight them… | Churchill: We shall fight them in the beaches, we shall fight them… |
| Paxman: Let me interrupt you there. You say, "We shall fight them on the beaches." Who is this we exactly? The Conservative party? | Paxman: Let me interrupt you there. You say, "We shall fight them on the beaches." Who is this we exactly? The Conservative party? |
| Churchill: The British people… | Churchill: The British people… |
| Paxman: But that's just not true, is it Mr Churchill? When you say we, you mean they. You personally have no intention of going down to Brighton beach and keeping the Germans at bay, do you? | Paxman: But that's just not true, is it Mr Churchill? When you say we, you mean they. You personally have no intention of going down to Brighton beach and keeping the Germans at bay, do you? |
| Churchill: I, I, I… | Churchill: I, I, I… |
| Paxman: You will be sitting in your bunker under the Cabinet Office in Whitehall smoking cigars and drinking a bottle of scotch… | Paxman: You will be sitting in your bunker under the Cabinet Office in Whitehall smoking cigars and drinking a bottle of scotch… |
| Churchill: Don't be so impertinent. | Churchill: Don't be so impertinent. |
| Paxman: The fact is prime minister, you've completely lost touch with the mood of the country and no one believes a word you say. That's all we've got time for. Thanks very much for coming on prime minister. | Paxman: The fact is prime minister, you've completely lost touch with the mood of the country and no one believes a word you say. That's all we've got time for. Thanks very much for coming on prime minister. |
| Tim Berners-Lee, fantasist | Tim Berners-Lee, fantasist |
| Paxman: Tonight I am joined by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the world wide web. Welcome, Sir Tim. | Paxman: Tonight I am joined by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the world wide web. Welcome, Sir Tim. |
| Berners-Lee: Good to be here, Jeremy. | Berners-Lee: Good to be here, Jeremy. |
| Paxman: So how does it feel, Sir Tim? | Paxman: So how does it feel, Sir Tim? |
| Berners-Lee: Excuse me? | Berners-Lee: Excuse me? |
| Paxman: How does it feel to be the man who single-handedly made pornography available to children throughout the world? | Paxman: How does it feel to be the man who single-handedly made pornography available to children throughout the world? |
| Berners-Lee: I don't think you can blame me for that… | Berners-Lee: I don't think you can blame me for that… |
| Paxman: Really? So how come before the internet pornography could only be found on the top shelves of newsagents, well out of reach of children… | Paxman: Really? So how come before the internet pornography could only be found on the top shelves of newsagents, well out of reach of children… |
| Berners-Lee: I still don't think you can personally blame me. | Berners-Lee: I still don't think you can personally blame me. |
| Paxman: OK then, Sir Tim. Let's try and find something you will take some responsibility for. What about the Royal Mail? | Paxman: OK then, Sir Tim. Let's try and find something you will take some responsibility for. What about the Royal Mail? |
| Berners-Lee: It's a great institution. | Berners-Lee: It's a great institution. |
| Paxman: Then why did you create a platform that made letter-writing redundant? I suppose you hate newspapers, too. | Paxman: Then why did you create a platform that made letter-writing redundant? I suppose you hate newspapers, too. |
| Berners-Lee: No. I'm a great admirer of the press. | Berners-Lee: No. I'm a great admirer of the press. |
| Paxman: Then you've a funny way of showing it Sir Tim… | Paxman: Then you've a funny way of showing it Sir Tim… |
| Berners-Lee: If I may just say… | Berners-Lee: If I may just say… |
| Paxman: The fact is, Sir Tim, however you try to dress up your creation in some bogus neo-libertarian ideology, the truth is that the internet is the biggest threat to our civilisation. | Paxman: The fact is, Sir Tim, however you try to dress up your creation in some bogus neo-libertarian ideology, the truth is that the internet is the biggest threat to our civilisation. |
| Berners-Lee: If you put it like that… | Berners-Lee: If you put it like that… |
| Paxman: So you admit it. You're whole life has been a total waste of time. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, thank you. | Paxman: So you admit it. You're whole life has been a total waste of time. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, thank you. |
| Mother Theresa, benefit tourist | Mother Theresa, benefit tourist |
| Paxman: So Mother Teresa, you were born in Albania but went to live in India. | Paxman: So Mother Teresa, you were born in Albania but went to live in India. |
| Mother Teresa: Correct. | Mother Teresa: Correct. |
| Paxman: Don't you think India had enough problems already without adding to them by entering the country as an illegal immigrant? | Paxman: Don't you think India had enough problems already without adding to them by entering the country as an illegal immigrant? |
| Mother Teresa: My passport was in order. | Mother Teresa: My passport was in order. |
| Paxman: You've made a bit of a name for yourself as a bit of a do-gooder? Do you think you deserve that reputation? | Paxman: You've made a bit of a name for yourself as a bit of a do-gooder? Do you think you deserve that reputation? |
| Mother Teresa: I've done my best to help the sick and the poor… | Mother Teresa: I've done my best to help the sick and the poor… |
| Paxman: Really? Wouldn't you have done a lot more good if you had actually had a proper job and given your own money to charity? | Paxman: Really? Wouldn't you have done a lot more good if you had actually had a proper job and given your own money to charity? |
| Mother Teresa: I did what I could… | Mother Teresa: I did what I could… |
| Paxman: Oh do come on. You can't expect anyone to believe that. Have you ever done a paid day's work in your life? Yes or no? | Paxman: Oh do come on. You can't expect anyone to believe that. Have you ever done a paid day's work in your life? Yes or no? |
| Mother Teresa: No. | Mother Teresa: No. |
| Paxman: So let's get this straight. You get all the credit for helping the Indian poor and go hobnobbing with the pope and Princess Diana, while expecting the rest of us to fund your lifestyle out of our hard-earned salaries… | Paxman: So let's get this straight. You get all the credit for helping the Indian poor and go hobnobbing with the pope and Princess Diana, while expecting the rest of us to fund your lifestyle out of our hard-earned salaries… |
| Mother Teresa: That is rather how charity works… | Mother Teresa: That is rather how charity works… |
| Paxman: So how much tax have you paid over the course of your life? | Paxman: So how much tax have you paid over the course of your life? |
| Mother Teresa: Er, none. | Mother Teresa: Er, none. |
| Paxman: Aren't you ashamed of yourself, Mother Teresa? Isn't the reality that you are just another scrounger. | Paxman: Aren't you ashamed of yourself, Mother Teresa? Isn't the reality that you are just another scrounger. |
| Mother Teresa: Aren't you going to ask me any questions about the conditions in my orphanages and my belief in the value of suffering? | Mother Teresa: Aren't you going to ask me any questions about the conditions in my orphanages and my belief in the value of suffering? |
| Paxman: That's all we've got time for. | Paxman: That's all we've got time for. |
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