Cameron threatened to ‘close down’ BBC, says editor

BBC’s political editor has claimed that Prime Minister David Cameron while campaigning for the May 7 general elections had threatened to “close down” the organisation.

Cameron’s Conservative Party’s war with BBC went up a notch when the premier made the incendiary comments to journalists while travelling on his “battle bus” ahead of the general elections, in which his party won a majority seat in the House of Commons, the Telegraph reported on Monday.

BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson said he was unsure whether the prime minister was making a “joke or a threat” - but claimed it was seen as “yet another bit of pressure” by BBC employees.

The editor said that while travelling on the bus, Cameron “rubbished” a BBC story where the news organisation had claimed the prime minister telling former Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg that the Conservatives would not win a majority, adding, “I’m going to close them (BBC) down after the election.”

“What really matters is the impact it has on other people. Some people on the bus regarded it <g data-gr-id="14">funny</g> but they generally did not work for the BBC,” Robinson told The Guardian.