Boris Johnson urges Brexit rally crowd to interrupt live Channel 4 News broadcast
Channel 4 News reporter Michael Crick is renowned for confronting politicians on camera – but he got a taste of his own medicine when he was interrupted during his live broadcast of Boris Johnson's Brexit rally on Friday.
The journalist was delivering a piece to camera from the back of the auditorium in Manchester while Johnson was still on stage launching the official Vote Leave campaign.
It prompted Johnson to break off from his speech and reprimand Crick for making too much noise, telling the veteran reporter to "shut up" and urging the audience to "interrupt" his broadcast – which one man duly did.
This is the moment @BorisJohnson MP urges the crowd to interrupt @MichaelLCrick's live report from a #Brexit rallyhttps://t.co/JooHlMQ46v
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) April 15, 2016
Johnson told the crowd: "Some chap from the media is trying to do his piece to camera. Shut up. Can we tell Crick, can someone go and interrupt Crick at the back. "Tell Crick you can do your piece to camera when I have finished."
One member of the audience duly obliged, blocking Crick's camera and telling him to "be quiet". The journalist replied that he was "just trying to explain what's going on", and was met with the response "yeah and so is he".
Later Crick took to Twitter to play down the confrontation and criticism of Johnson's actions.
With noises in your ear it's hard to judge what volume you're talking at. https://t.co/F3xRxEltHQ — Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) April 15, 2016
Unfair for people on Twitter to compare Boris Johnson with Trump over what he did with me tonight. Johnson a very media-friendly politician
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) April 15, 2016
Vote Leave was named as the official 'out' campaign for the EU referendum earlier this week.