A Conservative minister has been shut down for his bizarre performance on BBC Question Time.
Johnny Mercer was accused of “shouting across every member of the panel” by an audience member at the end of the corporation’s flagship politics show.
The veterans minister had made a series of dubious claims during the programme, and stood by his jibe at social media’s “collective bed-wetting” after this week facing a backlash for saying armed forces personnel don’t need to use food banks.
During a debate about whether social media was a good way to discuss politics, the audience member said: “Given that members of the Conservatives and the Conservative party have shut down any form of meaningful protest, and he’s shouted across every member of this panel tonight – how else are we meant to get our point across other than social media?”
In April this year, the controversial Public Order Bill was passed – introducing more powers to restrict people’s right to protest just months after anti-protest measures were enacted in the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.
Also in the show, Mercer faced criticism for wrongly suggesting the Labour Party was funded by climate protestors, Just Stop Oil.
He was also accused of misinterpreting a Labour politician’s position on the NHS.