Kakar, Arun (14 February 2018). "Andrew Marr editor to head up live political programmes at BBC as Victoria Derbyshire editor leaves for Channel 4 Dispatches". Press Gazette . Retrieved 7 December 2019. Through the lens of 12 key political interviews over the past 25 years, Burley humorously explores his unique experiences with the top country’s politicians. From Thatcher to Johnson, with Corbyn and Cameron in between, Burley "explores the state of democracy and accountability in a post-truth era, where voters now expect dishonesty from their leaders".

Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying To Me? – a question famously asked by grand inquisitor Jeremy Paxman – is Rob Burley’s deliciously irreverent and gossipy insider’s account of 25 years working at the very top of British political television – and the unique insight he’s gained on the country’s politicians on the way. Ten years ago, John Humphrys made a documentary about the welfare state for BBC2. When he was growing up in Cardiff, he said, hardly anyone was on benefits. Now, vast numbers are. Why? What had gone wrong? A good question – but, as he found out, a suicidally dangerous one for any BBC journalist to ask. He was hauled in front of a BBC star chamber, accused of supporting Tory policy, then found guilty of breaching guidelines on impartiality and accuracy. I spoke to him about it afterwards: his lesson, he said, was never to do something like that again. Burley’s candid new book Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me? revealed last week that BBC board member Robbie Gibb had told him to step away from investigating the promises made to the electorate by Brexiters. Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: 25 Years of Searching for the Truth on Political TV ( HarperCollins, 2023) ISBN 978-0008542481

Editorial director Joel Simons won the UK andCommonwealth rights, excluding Canada,from Martin Redfern at Northbank Talent Management. The book is due to be published in February 2023. The Online Safety Bill, now going through the Lords, will make all this far worse by threatening huge fines for Silicon Valley firms that publish anything deemed to be “harmful” and visible to children. What does this mean? It’s unclear: so the censorship bots will work overdrive just to be safe. Sir Keir Starmer may tighten things further as prime minister, forcing newspapers to accept state regulation. Those who refuse would be forced to pay the fee of anyone who sues, win or lose. The attitude of BBC leadership and Tim Davie reminded me of what happened with Andrew. He had his new BBC Wednesday evening political show established – a longform interview – which they then axed and instead offered him some sort of unfixed, occasional slot.

It is a key part of a democracy and the BBC has pretty much thrown it away,” he said. “They seem to have lost a lot of those people, as well their faith in the idea. They don’t believe viewers want it.” Rob Burley was for many years the man responsible for the live music at the end of The Andrew Marr Show, but don’t hold that against him. Apart from orchestrating the awkwardness of cabinet ministers nodding along to the oboe-botherer of the week, he has had a ringside seat for some of the biggest political interviews for more than a quarter of a century.Burley grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and was interested in politics from a young age. He obtained a degree in American studies from the University of Nottingham. [2] Also featuring Why is this Lying Bastard Lying to Me? by Rob Burley and The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan. I’ve spent more than 25 years behind the camera, so it felt weird to find myself sitting on Good Morning Britain’s big glossy set with Susanna Reid and Adil Ray. I was there to promote Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?, my slightly sweary part-history, part-memoir chronicling the televised 60-year tussle between broadcasters and politicians. Burley, who is now a producer at Sky News and makes interview shows fronted by its political editor, Beth Rigby, said his book was intended to entertain, while also “making the argument about the value of lengthier interviews”. In 2021, HarperCollins secured Burley's book, Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?, due to be published in February 2023. In it, he humorously describes his experiences with British politicians and focuses on 12 political interviews over a 25-year period. [10]

In 2022, Burley joined Global as executive editor of Andrew Marr's LBC programme Tonight with Andrew Marr. [11]Mayhew, Freddy (6 November 2019). "Claim Question Time put BBC editor's son in audience as Brexit supporter debunked as hoax". Press Gazette . Retrieved 7 December 2019. Brexitcast was renamed Newscast after the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020. The final edition of Brexitcast was released on 1 February 2020, with the first edition of Newscast airing on 6 February.

Lyons, Kate (4 September 2018). " 'Zero shame': Politics Live editor defends all-female line-up on new BBC show". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 December 2019.

Dolan – by virtue of being a young, female, Irish author – is often compared to Sally Rooney. Both novelists write about the personal relationships of twenty-somethings in contemporary Dublin, but Dolan’s writing feels less pored over, which makes for a zippier read, although one where the characters feel almost too zeitgeisty to be real. Archie is in many ways a formulaic corporate lawyer, taking drugs on weekdays and playing tennis against his firm’s partners at weekends – that he is queer and open-hearted saves him from becoming a caricature. Dolan is known for her humour and light touch, but here it is the more introspective moments – such as when Celine’s sister Phoebe suggests that her habit of playing the piano in her head is a means of dissociation – that stand out. Tobitt, Charlotte (19 March 2021). "Some 550 BBC jobs closed or moved as news shifts away from London". Press Gazette . Retrieved 19 March 2021. He began his career as a researcher for the Labour Party member of Parliament Paul Flynn. He joined ITV in 1996 and rose to become editor of its political shows The Sunday Edition and Jonathan Dimbleby. He also worked on Tonight, hosted by Trevor McDonald. [2] He joined the BBC in 2008 [4] and became executive editor of Question Time, deputy editor of Newsnight and assistant editor of BBC Breakfast. In 2018, he became the BBC's editor of live political programmes, [5] succeeding Robbie Gibb. The role was based in Westminster and led Burley to take responsibility for the programmes Daily Politics, Sunday Politics, This Week, The Westminster Hour and Newswatch. [6] When Daily Politics ended in 2018, Burley became editor of Politics Live, and later editor of The Andrew Neil Show and executive producer of the podcast Brexitcast on television. Rob Burley has prepared, practised and helped prosecute political interviews with eight prime ministers over more than twenty-five years, working alongside the biggest names in television. This book is his love letter to the political interview and, with the help of exclusive conversations with TV giants from Jeremy Paxman and Andrew Neil to Andrew Marr and Emily Maitlis, will take you inside the process like never before. Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me? – a question famously asked by master TV inquisitor Jeremy Paxman – is a history of thirty years in British politics viewed through the prism of political television, from Thatcher’s fall to the crash and burn of Liz Truss via the Iraq War, austerity, Brexit and Partygate. Rob Burley’s deliciously irreverent insider’s account of a career spent trying to get straight answers from politicians offers a unique insight into the British political class and their complicated relationship with the truth.