Footage has emerged of the veteran Sky News journalist Adam Boulton berating colleagues off-air, including the channel’s deputy political editor, Beth Rigby.
The video, which was shot during the Conservative party conference earlier this month and leaked to the Guardian on Tuesday, shows Boulton swearing and shouting at colleagues as he appears to prepare to go live on air to present an item on the MP Boris Johnson.
Speaking to a person not shown in the video, he says: “Yeah, if … if … if Beth comes, put her in there and then she can go away”, adding: “I know, I know”, then rolling his eyes. Boulton, still talking to an unknown person off-camera tells them to “just put the fucking seat in”, indicating the space to his right.
Boulton then asks a person off-camera: “Have you got the grab, yeah?” Becoming more exasperated, he says: “Yeah, well, she’s got to come and fucking sit here if she wants to be on telly.”
He appears to begin delivering comments to the camera, before throwing his hands in the air and asking: “What the fuck?” At that point, Boulton loses his temper and, pointing to his right, shouts: “Sit down there, stop fucking around.”
Rigby can be heard in the background saying: “I’m not fucking around, I was told not to come on and then to come on.”
Boulton joined Sky News as political editor when it launched in 1989 and served in that role for 25 years, before becoming its editor at large. The exchange with Rigby took place during an edition of his All Out Politics programme at this month’s Conservative party conference in Birmingham.
A Sky News spokesman said: “Adam was operating in a high-pressure live TV environment. He acknowledges he should not have sworn and apologises to Beth.”
