Robert Peston interviewed by James Ramsbotham

Feb 13 2009 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

Roles were reversed when the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston was grilled by North East Chamber of Commerce chief executive James Ramsbotham, on behalf of The Journal, yesterday. Paul Loraine reports.

TUCKING into a pre-interview banana, journalist-turned- media personality Robert Peston had the look of a sportsman preparing for battle.

Here he was, tables turned just as they had been when he faced the Treasury Select Committee last week, the interviewer turned interviewee.

And – for many onlookers – he was certainly considered to be on enemy soil. His apparent part in the downfall of Northern Rock has been much debated. Now here he was to face one of his sternest critics.

Kitted out in a well-fitted grey suit, a checked skinny tie and brown suede shoes, he certainly looked the part.

Mr Peston is a man for whom the confident hand gestures which punctuate his arguments and the slow, measured delivery are not signs of posturing, rather outward shows of an almost frightening self-belief.

But his opponent Mr Ramsbotham has a history which suggests he is made of strong stuff too – his father was one of Britain’s highest ranking Army officers and he spent 10 years himself in the Royal Green Jackets, travelling all over the world and living in the jungle.

But there’s nothing like Robert Peston in the jungle.

For the most part Mr Ramsbotham was still, not rising to the repeated gesticulations of his interviewee.

His questioning was considered and rarely did he interrupt Mr Peston’s flow.

But there were signs from the outset of a jungle warrior lying behind the steely gaze. In his very first question, Mr Ramsbotham told Mr Peston how “painfully aware” we are in the region of the aftermath of “his story on Northern Rock”. That’s not the aftermath of Northern Rock’s collapse that’s hurting us – it’s his story. An early blow by Mr Ramsbotham.

There was no panic from Mr Peston, however, as he launched into his argument that Northern Rock’s troubles were “an open secret” in the City and his piece was merely reporting what was a painful reality.

“Why should it be the case that big institutions know what’s wrong but more than a million savers should be kept in the dark about this?” he asked, defaulting to his more typical role as questioner.

“I do think it was in the public interest for people to know, ordinary people with their savings, to know the real risks that Northern Rock was running.

“That’s what I felt I did – provided that information.”

This was a measured pummelling of the idea that his story was in some way responsible for making people panic.

He delivered the phrase “public interest” with relish – the journalist’s left hook. Mr Ramsbotham was not to be hushed entirely, though, putting it to Mr Peston that his piece may have damaged a deal with Lloyds TSB to save Northern Rock.

But Peston kicked it into touch, saying: “By the time I did my story, the Governor of the Bank of England had already rejected the takeover from Lloyds TSB.

“There was no possibility of that deal being done at that stage.”

Then, amid all this questioning of his journalistic choices, the BBC man alluded to some lofty supporters from the capital. According to Mr Peston, the Chancellor, the Governor of the Bank of England and the head of the FSA had no complaints over his handling of the story.

“I have spoken to them all since and none of them have accused us of sensationalism. In fact, they said our broadcasts were responsible and balanced.”

Quite a claim. Apparently the central players in this saga, people much more important than any North Easterner could possibly even imagine, were not just able to let Mr Peston get on with his job but actively pat him on the back for a job well done.

He explained himself in long, rambling answers which meant Mr Ramsbotham’s planned list of questions had to be cut in half. But, after a little waiting and much dramatic pausing, Mr Peston arrived at the centrepiece of his argument: “This is not a crisis of confidence, this is a recession caused by a massive overhang of debt and a bulge of lending, a lot of which has gone bad.

“The media have done a responsible job of explaining what is a profoundly worrying economic reality.”

He seemed to have the answer for everything and finished by telling Mr Ramsbotham about Gordon Brown’s “big mistake”.

“What they didn’t do was look closely enough at the risks being taken in the City. If you’re a regulator, if you’re a politician, you have to look under the bonnet. The engine sounds good but you have to see whether it’s overheating.”

Page 2: Northern Rock staff unload frustrations >>