Tory Lord Mark Harper tried to break the world record for repeatedly dodging the question, and you could almost see Victoria Derbyshire’s last nerve
The village of Piddington in Oxfordshire has been in the news after residents staged protests over plans to house around 1250 male asylum seekers in a nearby military base.
In a village referendum on whether to withdraw from the UK, they voted to leave by 285 to 26, plus one spoiled ballot. The vote carries no official weight, but is symbolic of the strength of feeling in the area.
One villager discussed the difficulty of holding a minority view, and how the issue has poisoned the atmosphere.
"It's really upsetting – it's always been the most amazingly peaceful place to live and we've never experienced the level of overt racism that we’re witnessing"
Rachel, a Piddington resident, expresses her concern at some of the arguments made in opposition to plans for a nearby… pic.twitter.com/UKVKHGVYyz
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) September 15, 2026
Newsnight covered the story on Tuesday, with guests Dr Zubir Ahmed, Lord Mark Harper, and journalist Vicky Spratt. When Victoria Derbyshire tried to pin down Conservative Mark Harper, who opposes the plans, on where he would house asylum seekers, he went into full avoidance mode.
Watch how she handled it.
"I'm just asking you a really direct question, and if you wouldn't mind answering that would be amazing…"@vicderbyshire presses Lord Harper on where the Conservatives would house asylum seekers.#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/3jOGOmSyqq
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) September 15, 2026
In other words, he has no idea, but he really doesn’t want to dwell on how his party broke the asylum system.
Tweeters facepalmed hard.
1.
Imagine if American TV interviewers would do interviews like this one from @vicderbyshire https://t.co/9ckQHEZ62y
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 16, 2026
2.
Humiliating car crash interview with Conservative Mark Harper who is now somehow in the House of Lords.
Victoria Derbyshire asks him 10 times where he would house asylum seekers, he obfuscates shamelessly.
My commentary at the end. pic.twitter.com/ANTeoUf4gm
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) September 15, 2026
3.
Course it's gonna be expensive you fool. It's an incredibly complex problem. Dispersing it across the country (or sending them back to France) is the stupidest approach you could take for various reason. Spend some money and sort it out or we'll be hearing more from proj mayhem
— Ken Bar Low (@OldPeopleFine) September 16, 2026
4.
He embodies the fact simple truth that the Tory Party cares for no-one but their own (and often not even them). There is no such thing as society is their religious zeal to make everything for almost everyone, worse.
— Nick 🏴🏳️🌈💚 (@_Petit_Nicolas) September 16, 2026
5.
I am never surprised by how useless these people are. Sadly it appear to be no bar to becoming a politician and then getting into the Lords.
— Colin Bingle (@bingle_colin) September 16, 2026
6.
In the past, Victoria Derbyshire worked for BBC Radio 5 Live. A phone-in, a format that I despise. So I had very little respect for her. Good presenter, very sweet, but a lightweight.
In recent years she has proven me so utterly wrong.
Total respect for her now. I was an idiot.
— Kim Driver (@KimDriver11) September 16, 2026
7.
Hear ye
Hear yeNothing worth saying….. https://t.co/NieoCK3W2S
— William James Dundas (@55wjd) September 15, 2026
8.
"safe third country"? Which is that? Will those "3rd countries" will agree?
Plan? That's not a plan.— Angelica Ким (@AgelicaKim2014) September 16, 2026
9.
Why do we have such awful politicians?
I remember him as Transport Sec stating "cyclists must adhere to 20MPH limits"
(even though they legally don't apply to cyclists)Then he said we mustn't have too many 20MPH limits because drivers won't comply.
Lame leadership. pic.twitter.com/9Q3pSE863r
— ⎝ ༺drew༻ (@drewsnx) September 15, 2026
10.
So they rubbish Labour whatever they do , But have no plan whatsoever to do themselves how very Conservative,
— Tony Rees (@TonyRees11) September 16, 2026
11.
Crap Transport Sec. Crap Lord
— andrew behan (@andrew_behan) September 15, 2026
The bar is so low, it’s subterranean.
I am never surprised by how useless these people are. Sadly it appear to be no bar to becoming a politician and then getting into the Lords.
— Colin Bingle (@bingle_colin) September 16, 2026
READ MORE
Source BBC Newsnight Image Screengrab