Laura Kuenssberg reveals embarrassing personal gaffe which led to Boris Johnson interview being scrapped

Laura Kuenssberg has revealed a personal gaffe which caused her interview with Boris Johnson to be scrapped.

The BBC journalist was due to interview the former Prime Minister tomorrow, but the interview will no longer go ahead. This evening, she explained the reason why the interview has been cancelled - and admitted that she felt frustrated and disappointed after sending Mr Johnson some briefing notes that were meant for her team.

Ms Kuenssberg, who is the former BBC political editor, tweeted: "While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team. That obviously means it's not right for the interview to go ahead.

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"It's very frustrating, and there's no point pretending it's anything other than embarrassing and disappointing, as there are plenty of important questions to be asked. But red faces aside, honesty is the best policy. See you on Sunday."

The TV chat was meant to be Mr Johnson's first major interview about his time in office since stepping down as PM. He was expected to face awkward questions about Partygate, his response to Covid and his handling of the Chris Pincher scandal.

Mr Johnson, who quit Parliament just before a bombshell standards committee report ruled he had misled the Commons over parties in No10, was due to be grilled in the interview tomorrow. The former PM has maintained he was unfairly ousted from office, and is set to share his gripes in upcoming memoir Unleashed, due for release this month.

Nearly a year ago it was announced he would be joining GB News as a presenter, but his show has yet to start. Ms Kuenssberg has recently done a Panorama special - Partygate: Inside the Storm - and a three-part series about the Conservative government, State of Chaos. She interviewed key figures who served under Mr Johnson, who lifted the lid on his chaotic leadership.

It comes as a memoir by another prominent Tory, former 1922 Committee chief Sir Graham Brady, claims Mr Johnson branded Tory backbenchers "spineless chicken s***" for criticising former aide Dominic Cummings. The working relationship between Mr Johnson and Mr Cummings collapsed during the pandemic, with the latter likening his boss to a shopping trolley that swerved all over the place.

As Mr Cummings faced a backlash for driving to Barnard Castle in Durham while lockdown restrictions were in place, Sir Graham said the then-PM launched a furious tirade. He is claimed to have said: "I think backbench MPs have been contemptible! They have been spineless chicken s***. They need to develop some backbone." The book also claimed Mr Johnson whined about the "stupid f***ing two-metre rule" and "f***ing scientists".