Veteran journalist Sir Trevor McDonald has revealed that a question he put to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during their landmark 1990 interview now makes him "cringe".
The 86-year-old will re-examine the ITN broadcast, filmed in a Baghdad palace, for a new ITV series, 'Reporting History', launching Friday on ITVX and YouTube.
The interview, conducted after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, saw Sir Trevor question Hussein on the threat of war and alleged atrocities by Iraqi forces.
In the new show, Sir Trevor admits that if he was to do the interview again today, he would change his opening question: “Mr President, the invasion of a neighbouring country with such calculated force and brutality is a very un-Arab thing to do, isn’t it?”
He says: “It’s a particularly biting commentary to somebody like Saddam Hussein … I still cringe when I listen to it. If I had to do this again, I’d find other words.”
Sir Trevor goes on to add that he was surprised by Hussein’s demeanour given he was known for oppression and mass killings.
He added: “There was a flicker of an occasional smile, I never associated Saddam with smiling. He was a much smoother operator. Don’t forget, this is a man who inspired such fear in the country.”
The new show also sees Sir Trevor speak about he and his team being “roughed up” and strip-searched on their way to the interview, and at one point being told they might not be able to bring their cameras.
He said the team “never knew from one moment to another what was going to happen” before adding that “unpredictability was the game”.
In the period after the interview, Iraq would lose the Gulf War in 1991, yet Hussein remained in power until a US-led invasion in 2003, before he was executed in 2006 aged 69.
Speaking about Iraq today, Sir Trevor expresses sadness at enduring divisions in the country and asks whether more could have been done in the post‑war years to change the nation’s trajectory.
The episode focusing on Sir Trevor’s interview with Hussein can be viewed from Friday on ITVX and YouTube while an extended audio conversation with News At Ten anchor Tom Bradby will also be available as a podcast.
