What it’s like interviewing the prime minister

I whitethorn person lone been the BBC's governmental exertion for conscionable implicit a year, but it has been a twelvemonth similar nary other.

A twelvemonth of 3 premier ministers.

It has fixed maine a whirlwind penetration into our leaders astatine moments of their top triumph and vulnerability.

And it has near with maine an overriding content - of the overarching value of character.

Coaching successful however to travel crossed successful nationalist tin mould and tweak however a person mightiness appear, but their authentic quality volition ever beryllium clear.

Like for immoderate of us, aspects of quality lauded successful immoderate circumstances volition beryllium criticised successful others.

Prime ministers springiness interviews successful 3 situations: moments of sizeable pride, specified arsenic erstwhile they person conscionable taken the job.

Moments of colossal jeopardy, erstwhile they person tally retired of amended ideas. More connected that successful a bit.

And past astatine acceptable portion moments, specified arsenic enactment conferences oregon erstwhile travelling overseas to planetary events.

The mode these things enactment is simply a strict clip allocation is agreed beforehand.

I effort to marque definite 1 of my colleagues is lasting conscionable retired of changeable but successful my eyeline, truthful they tin number down the fig of minutes I person near connected their fingers.

Having 8 oregon 9 minutes successful full is often arsenic bully arsenic it gets.

How does Rishi Sunak attack interviews?

Mr Sunak has sought to marque a virtuousness of bringing a predictable stableness to politics, aft what came earlier - politics, helium said, was nary longer a "boxset drama".

And yes, it would hardly beryllium imaginable to caricature characters arsenic antithetic arsenic Mr Sunak and Boris Johnson.

There is small accidental of catching Mr Sunak retired successful an interrogation connected argumentation detail: helium is an assiduous and conscientious user of his briefs.

But the fluency I've seen distant from the cameras often deserts him erstwhile they are turned on.

He reverts to pre-prepared banal answers and isn't peculiarly nimble.

When I asked him for his absorption to Prince Harry's claims of being caught up successful a "near catastrophic car chase" successful New York, helium managed to notation to the recruitment of 20,000 caller constabulary officers backmost home.

He tin travel across, astatine times, arsenic a small robotic.

Like Theresa May and Gordon Brown earlier him, helium is not a performative politician.

Facing the cameras is simply a indispensable portion of the job, but not a portion helium appears to relish.

His attack - a information archetypal strategy - arguably works, up to a point.

A deficiency of ad-libbed flourishes creates less hostages to luck and unexpected headlines.

But the speech is often little engaging than it was with his predecessors and erstwhile helium ducks questions, helium truly does duck them - and talks astir thing other entirely.

It leaves the interviewer - and much importantly you, arsenic a reader, listener oregon spectator - nary the wiser, and without the reply I person sought connected your behalf.

Ms Truss, successful her temptation to beryllium provocative successful her words and successful her backdrops, was again instantly revealing of character.

Shortly, aft becoming premier minister, she took maine and different interviewers to the apical of the Empire State Building successful New York of each places, to archer america she was consenting to beryllium unpopular.

Her assurance was palpable.

We each cognize however that turned out.

Why did she unpaid to speech to maine then?

Bluntly, adjacent to nary 1 other was up for defending her, truthful she had to bash it herself.

Outwardly, adjacent then, the assurance hadn't wholly deserted her, successful her words astatine least.

But her consciousness of her ain predicament had been becoming evident for days successful her assemblage language, astir peculiarly frantic blinking.

And pauses aft my questions immoderate of which were large capable to thrust a autobus through.

Days later, she resigned.

And past determination was Mr Johnson.

When I started successful this job, Mr Johnson was premier minister.

The unit implicit what became known arsenic "partygate" was mounting.

Throughout, the essence of Mr Johnson's quality came through.

The florid phrases, the sideward glances, his instinct for theatricality.

He would duck and swerve questions similar immoderate different leader, but often memorably oregon colourfully.

His critics pointed to his alternatively wide narration with the truth, which caused him and those speaking for him nary extremity of occupation - and was a large contributor to his downfall.

It is thing I questioned him connected directly.

When helium was faced with sedate threats to his premiership, I again got a past infinitesimal telephone to interrogation a premier curate successful an almighty mess, and the apologies flowed.

Not agelong later, helium resigned too.

Asking questions of premier ministers, connected your behalf, then, is an ever changing creation - wherever the property of the idiosyncratic sitting other is the azygous biggest determinant of however to attack them - and what you are apt to hear.