BBC Free Speech's #AskATory Didn't Go Too Well For The Conservatives

#AskATory Backfired In Predictably Spectacular Fashion
British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, arrives for an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. EU leaders meet for a one-day summit on Thursday to discuss, among other issues, European banks and the situation in Ukraine.(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, arrives for an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. EU leaders meet for a one-day summit on Thursday to discuss, among other issues, European banks and the situation in Ukraine.(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Following on from a recent episode of BBC's 'Free Speech' where young people were invited to fire questions atEd Miliband, the chance was also offered to the Conservatives on Tuesday night.

Despite Labour fielding their party leader for the show, the Tories pitched party chairman Grant Shapps but pulled him out at the last minute.

So what big name did they choose to tackle the public after Miliband's surprisingly good performance? Sam Gyimah. Yeah...

He's the Tory MP for East Surrey, apparently.

The BBC also roped in 'Apprentice' runner-up Luisa Zissman and journalists Ian Birrell and Toby Young along to join in, creating a panel of right-wingers for questioning from the public.

But the hashtag used for the show went a bit haywire - rather than serious questions, #AskATory was dominated by a torrent of abuse. As you'd expect.

Here's a pick of some of the less libellous and less sweary ones:

Like a very predictable slow-motion car crash...

Meanwhile, a lot of people took aim at Luisa Zissman, calling her a "budget Katie Hopkins" and lambasting her views on feminism and education.

Luisa Zissman in 'The Apprentice' in 2013

The businesswoman, who came fourth in 2014's 'Celebrity Big Brother', said she would prefer to hire someone "with life experience" rather than someone who had "fannied about getting drunk at uni".

She also confused and enraged feminists across the UK when she said: "I wouldn’t call myself a feminist. I think there’s too much extreme feminism that I don’t support.

"Yes there’s inequality in pay and no I’m not okay with that but I don’t agree with No More Page 3 and all of that feminism".

If you missed the show, it's available on iPlayer here.

Close

What's Hot