New Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney 'pulled off air by aide' after Brexit grilling in radio interview with Julia Hartley-Brewer

New MP: Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney speaks to the media after winning the Richmond Park by-election
PA
Hatty Collier2 December 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Sarah Olney was apparently pulled off air by a member of her press team after being given a grilling during a radio interview.

The Liberal Democrats’ newest MP, who ousted former Tory Zac Goldsmith in a shock by-election victory, was being interviewed by Julia Hartley-Brewer on Talk Radio on Friday afternoon.

Her premature exit came after tricky questioning from the presenter on her calls for a referendum on the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Ms Hartley-Brewer said: "Voters knew what they were voting for in your by-election, they knew what they were voting for in the EU referendum.

"Why do we think that one election should be re-run and one shouldn't?"

Ms Olney said the terms of Brexit had not been clear during the referendum and it had been a vote on the departure rather than the destination.

"There was no clear manifesto for what happened to our membership of the single market or what happened to freedom of movement," she said.

Richmond Park by-election 2016 - In pictures

1/16

Ms Hartley-Brewer replied: "Every single leading member of the Remain campaign said a vote to leave the EU was a vote to leave the single market. Nothing unclear about that at all."

After a few seconds of silence, an unnamed aide stepped in and told the presenter: "I'm really sorry but Sarah has to leave now."

Ms Hartley-Brewer said the MP "should be able to answer some simple questions" about her policy and asked for her to be put back on air but was told Ms Olney had another interview to attend.

"If she doesn't want to answer questions from a radio station perhaps she is not fit to be an MP", the presenter added.

Additional reporting Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in