Former prime minister Liz Truss avoided answering questions from BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire in an unusual manner at the Conservative Party Conference on Monday. When persistently questioned about her recent claims that the Tories would have performed better in the last general election if she had remained leader, Truss walked away – straight into the women’s toilets.
Truss, who spoke at a fringe event during the conference, stirred controversy by suggesting the party’s electoral fortunes would have been improved under her leadership instead of current prime minister Rishi Sunak.
The Awkward Exchange
Shortly after her appearance, Derbyshire and the Newsnight team caught up with Truss and attempted to press her on her comments. Derbyshire asked, “Liz Truss, you said you’d be a better prime minister than Rishi Sunak. Why do you say that?”
Instead of responding, Truss smiled and continued walking without a word, with Derbyshire following closely behind. Despite repeated attempts to engage her, including the question, “Why don’t you want to answer any questions?” Truss refused to engage and entered the women’s toilets.
Derbyshire stopped and remarked, “Fair enough, we’re not going in the ladies’ loo.”
A Familiar Tactic Among Tories?
This isn’t the first time a high-profile Conservative figure has avoided the press in a dramatic fashion. During the 2019 general election, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson famously hid in a fridge to avoid an ITV interview with Good Morning Britain. Truss’s latest attempt to dodge questions has drawn comparisons to Johnson’s memorable moment.
Persistence Pays Off – Or Does It?
Not one to give up, Derbyshire later found Truss again walking around the conference. She continued to ask the former PM tough questions, including, “You said the country is in decline – is that partly your responsibility?” and, “Do you still see a future for yourself in Conservative politics?”
However, Truss remained silent throughout, offering no response to questions about her economic record or her controversial mini-budget during her brief tenure as prime minister.
Derbyshire’s final question—“Was there anything that went wrong with your mini-budget that you would take responsibility for?”—was also met with silence as Truss walked away.
https://x.com/BBCNewsnight/status/1840830373720138214?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1840830373720138214%7Ctwgr%5E1532766fc7de2e1be20a457265cd202e9dd096d2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk%2Fentry%2Fliz-truss-had-a-strangest-reaction-to-reporters-questioning_uk_66fbc1a2e4b0b8718abac4c8Truss Criticises the Media
Just hours earlier, Truss had criticised the press during her speech at the fringe event, accusing journalists of offering “vague” criticism and calling for more in-depth analysis of the UK’s problems. Despite her own critique of the media, her refusal to engage with questions raised further concerns about her accountability for her time in office.
The episode bears similarities to a previous incident in central London, where Truss ignored nine questions from a BBC reporter. She also avoided press questions during her visit to the United States last summer to support Republican candidate Donald Trump.
As Truss continues to make public appearances, her interactions with the media are becoming as much a topic of conversation as her policies.
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