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September 28, 2009

Andrew Marr unrepentant about questioning PM’s health

By Emma Slawinski

Andrew Marr has refused to apologise for asking Gordon Brown if he took medication during an interview with the Prime Minister for his BBC1 show yesterday morning.

Marr defended his line of questioning, saying he had considered it carefully beforehand.

“I decided it was a fair question to ask or I wouldn’t have asked it,” he told the Guardian.

Marr said he had leave to ask whatever questions he though appropriate, and did not run them by BBC executives before interviews.

Interviewing Brown on BBC1 yesterday Marr asked whether the Prime Minister took prescription painkillers to help with eye problems he suffered as a result of a boyhood injury.

The Prime Minister responded: “No. I think this is the sort of questioning which is all too often entering the lexicon of British politics.”

The BBC received over 100 complaints from viewers about the broadcast.

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