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9 September 2015

Watch: Michael Crick chases a “spying” Tory press officer from a Jeremy Corbyn event

Conservative regional press officer Mike Watkinson left the event after being outed by the Channel 4 reporter.

By Media Mole

A Tory press officer was forced to leave a Jeremy Corbyn campaign event in Nuneaton after he was, to use the common parlance, “Cricked”.

The Channel 4 news reporter Michael Crick outed Mike Watkinson as a Tory, walking up to him in the third row and asking “Mr Watkinson? Of the Conservative party?”

Laughing “I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Watkinson – who is a Conservative regional press officer – immediately got up and left the event, with Crick hot on his heels.

“You do seem to be leaving this event rather rapidly,” Crick said, as he followed the clearly uncomfortable Watkinson out of the hall with a large camera, asking if he’d been sent as a spy by party headquarters and whether he was “embarrassed”.

“Couldn’t you find out about Mr Corbyn from television and radio? I don’t think he makes any secret of his views”, Crick asked as Watkinson approached his car to drive away.

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Asked about the event, Corbyn said that Watkinson would have been “welcome to stay”.

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Watch the video from Channel 4 here: