General election: Tories complain as Johnson replaced by ice sculpture in TV debate
Boris Johnson did not turn up to Channel 4's climate debate, so he was replaced with a melting ice sculpture.
Friday 29 November 2019 09:14, UK
A row has erupted between Channel 4 and the Conservatives after the broadcaster used an ice sculpture in place of Boris Johnson when he didn't turn up to their leaders' debate on climate issues.
Podiums reserved for Mr Johnson and the Brexit Party's Nigel Farage were replaced by ice sculptures which are melting in the studio while five other leaders - from Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens, Plaid Cymru and the SNP - set out their positions on the climate emergency.
The Tories have written to Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, to claim Channel 4's decision is in breach of its broadcasting code.
Channel 4 says it invited all party leaders to the studio debate and that the Brexit Party and the Conservatives failed to put up their leaders.
The Tories say they offered Michael Gove - the party's former environment secretary - and said there was precedent for senior party figures standing in for leaders during debates.
At a BBC debate during the 2017 campaign, Amber Rudd represented the Conservatives instead of Theresa May.
Mr Gove turned up to the debate but was told he would not be able to speak.
Photos also showed Mr Johnson's father Stanley, who has written books on the environment, at the studio.
Editor Ben de Pear said he asked the other party leaders if they would like to debate Mr Gove and they all declined.
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Mr Gove answered questions in a Facebook live during the debate instead.
The letter to Ofcom, written in advance of the broadcast, says: "It has even been reported that Channel 4 has commissioned an ice sculpture of the prime minister to represent the Conservative Party.
"Were this the case, this would represent a significant breach of the code through such a provocative partisan stunt, which would itself constitute making a political opinion in its own right."
The party says Channel 4 is in breach of its responsibility to give due impartiality to all parties by refusing to have a particular representative from one.
The letter was written to Ofcom by Lee Cain - a former journalist who used to dress up as a chicken while he worked at the Daily Mirror to shame leaders like David Cameron for his reluctance to answer questions on the campaign trail.
BuzzFeed reports that the Conservatives are now considering holding a review of Channel 4's public service broadcast obligations following the stunt.
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The letter to Ofcom from the Conservatives adds: "This is part of a wider pattern of bias by Channel 4 in recent months.
"It follows Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4's head of news and current affairs, making highly personal and unpleasant attacks on the prime minister at the Edinburgh Television Festival in August."
Tom Watson, outgoing Labour deputy leader, wrote his own letter to Ofcom, saying it is "deeply concerning that a governing party would wish to restrict the free press".
Throughout the hour-long debate, the five leaders talked about food production, retro fitting homes to improve energy use, and transport including Heathrow's third runway and HS2.
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