Emily Maitlis: How BBC Newsnight presenter ‘felt liberated’ after Jeremy Paxman’s exit

Number 10 adviser Mr Cummings landed himself in hot water after it was discovered he drove 260 miles from London to Durham during lockdown. While he and the Government insist he did not flout the rules, it has led many to accuse ministers of having one rule for the Westminster elite and another for everyone else. Ms Maitlis shocked Newsnight viewers last night with a monologue on the subject that some claim stepped over the mark in terms of BBC impartiality.

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She said: “Dominic Cummings broke the rules, the country can see that, and it’s shocking the Government cannot.

“The longer ministers and the Prime Minister tell us he worked with them, the more angry the response to this scandal is likely to be.”

She added: “[Cummings] should understand that public mood. One of fury, contempt and anguish.

“He made those who struggled to keep to the rules feel like fools, and has allowed many more to feel like they can flout them.”

READ MORE: BBC’s Emily Maitlis vowed to end Paxman-era ‘aggression’ on Newsnight

Emily Maitlis said she felt liberated when Jeremy Paxman left BBC Newsnight (Image: BBC/ GETTY)

Number 10 adviser Dominic Cummings (Image: GETTY)

Ms Maitlis spoke her mind as she led the programme last night in a way that may have only been possible now that Newsnight legend Mr Paxman has left the show.

Known for his no-nonsense interviews and biting remarks, Mr Paxman’s most famous exchange was with former Home Secretary Michael Howard, who he asked: “Did you threaten to overrule him?” around 12 times.

Mr Paxman quit Newsnight in 2014 and Ms Maitlis, who was made lead presenter last year, confessed in May 2016 that she felt “liberated” when he left.

While Mr Paxman was her “broadcasting hero”, she said she felt better able to adapt her own style once she was out of his shadow.

Jeremy Paxman’s infamous interview with Michael Howard (Image: GETTY)

In an interview with the Telegraph, she insisted that it was not Mr Paxman himself that prevented her finding her own voice and way of doing things, but the expectation his presence placed on the other presenters.

She said: “It wasn’t to do with him, but there were so many assumptions of what a Paxman-era interview should be like and once that was gone, I felt more in control.”

Perhaps her words last night show finding her own voice out of the shadow of previous presenters.

One thing in particular that she insisted she would change was to have a more gentle style of interview, instead of the tough talk of her predecessor.

Emily Maitlis presenting BBC Newsnight (Image: BBC)

Ms Maitlis said: “We never played the game of who can ask the questions 15 times, but there was a sense of ‘How tough can you be?’

“I have learned that in some of my best interviews I was lovely, but they still yielded extraordinary moments.”

She added: “Jeremy’s style was brilliant and inimitable, but that was the key word.

“I am now really cautious never to ask a question that sounds rude or aggressive or stupid to me. I like to step back, it’s all about listening.”

The journalist described her own interview approach as “flirtation, seduction and betrayal”, meaning that she likes to start friendly, create a rapport and then hit them with a difficult question.

At the time, her words reignited a long debate about which interview style is best.

Other BBC giants like Radio 4’s John Humphreys have been accused of interrupting guests too much and being too scathing in their tone.

Justin Webb, who co-presented the Today Programme with Mr Humphreys agreed with Ms Mailtis that the “gotcha” style of interview their colleagues used often “generated more heat than light”.

He told the Telegraph in 2016: “It’s day has passed. We’ve moved on and indeed I think if a young person starting out now employed that style it would be as successful.

“Simply put, the audience got bored with it.”