As a media training company, it was this week impossible for us to ignore what has been dubbed the latest “car-crash” interview with Jeremy Paxman. In the debacle, junior Treasury Minister Chloe Smith appeared on Newsnight as sacrificial lamb to explain chancellor George Osborne’s u-turn on increasing fuel duty. Predictably, she faced a classic Paxman onslaught.

Paxman asked – on the face of it – a fairly straightforward set of questions, seeking to determine when Smith was told about the u-turn. But she was unable, or unwilling, to give a clear answer, so viewers were presented with the “good old” Paxman that many had been missing.

Paxman: When were you told of this change of plan?

Smith: Well, as a minister in the Treasury and indeed dealing with fuel matters this has been under consideration for some time.

Paxman: When was the decision taken?

Smith: As I say, it’s been under consideration for some time.

Paxman: When was the decision taken?

And so the exchange went on. Paxman got more patronising, and Smith looked more foolish for repeating her vague line and refusing to answer the actual question.

The first point to make is that commentators have said that it should have been either the prime minister or chancellor appearing on Newsnight to deal with questions on another u-turn, not a more junior treasury minister. Secondly, Paxman may have been irritated by the lack of a more senior spokesperson – and took it out on the person who did show up.

In any case, Chloe Smith did not come out of the interview well. She spent the whole time batting back question after question, when she should have been – clearly and convincingly – getting across her story. This is, after all, why she agreed to be on the interview.

Facing Paxman is never easy, and while there’s no silver bullet technique to handle his aggressive questions, it looked as though Smith had been very badly briefed and had not prepared for her interview.

The final question was, “Do you ever think you’re incompetent?” Under the circumstances Smith actually handled this one reasonably well. But unfortunately for her, most viewers will be left thinking the answer to Paxman’s question was “Yes.”

See for yourself…

How do you think Chloe Smith handled her “Paxman moment”?

Let us know in the comments below.