It's not often I am left open mouthed by an interviewer's question, but Andrew Marr achieved it this morning when he asked Gordon Brown directly about the rumours that he is taking "prescription drugs such as painkillers". UPDATE: The actual quote was: "A lot of people use prescription painkillers and pills to help them get through, are you one of those people?"
Brown simply replied "No" and then rambled about how he has coped with his eye problems. He was clearly furious Marr had had the temerity to ask such a question. Was he right to be furious?
I'd say not. The PM's state of health is a legitimate matter for concern. Marr has heard the same rumours as the rest of us and clearly felt there was a possibility that the rumours might have some validity. Unfortunately the Prime Minister's behaviour throughout the interview would have done nothing to dispel the rumours.
Marr proved something to a lot of sceptics this morning. That he has some big, fat, hairy ones.
What's the betting Brown refuses to be interviewed by him again?
God this is scraping the barrel
ReplyDeleteTip for Marr: Don't go for a long walk in an Oxfordshire forest.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. Brown was happy to talk about his health. He slowed his pace, and spoke endlessly about his eyes, knowing that this was killing time, and Marr would have less time for killer finale questions.
ReplyDeleteHe knows he will win sympathy. It's an irrelevant topic unless his health is critical. Brown liked the distraction.
To a man with his finger on the nuclear button- of course it is a legitimate question.
ReplyDeleteMarr did ask some decent questions for a change. That didn't stop Gordon rambling and ignoring truth and reality though.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Marr knows there aren't many interview slots left in Gordon's premiership. Thus it is safe to ask some tougher questions without being ostracised by Brown.
Still - fair play to Marr.
Gordon is a shambling, deceitful wreck though.........
He didnt say anti-depressants. He said prescription pain killers. Not like you to be inaccurate... ROFL...
ReplyDeleteThe "big, fat, hairy ones" took some time to appear, as Brown didn't allow him to speak for most of the interview. When even Marr gets rattled, the Labour game is well and truly over.
ReplyDeleteAs for Brown - mad, bad and sad.
I'm uncomfortable with the idea that a person's health can be discussed in this way.
ReplyDeleteI think there are very legitimate issues of personal privacy that shouldn't be breached.
While in, for example, the USA the President's health is a public matter, it should be noted that he is also the Head of State and takes executive decisions based on that role.
In theory at least, the Prime Minister is simply the first amongst equals within the Cabinet, so his health situation shouldn't as critical as that with a Constitutionally declared Prime Minister (or President).
It might be time to consider the legal position and whether the Prime Minister should be set further away from the Cabinet - and if so then as a more powerful executive figure, then his/her health might be an area for legitimate debate.
Right now, I simply feel uncomfortable with private health issues being debated like this.
However, in a society where tabloid celebs seem to bare all in terms of mental and physical health on the covers of the magazines every week, maybe we have become used to the idea that health issues are no longer private?
I wonder how many people baying for more information would be happy to have their private GP records made public as a matter of routine?
It was inevitable that Brown was would answer “no”, whether truth or not. Marr has simply just created a nice little bit of PR for his show (as well as obviously putting Brown back in the firing line).
ReplyDeleteBrown will continue to say he is in good health because his survival demands it – esp. in light of the upcoming conference! I don’t think he can refuse to appear on Marr again, it would do his reputation more harm than good and suggest he has something to hide.
It is hardly a headline when a man totally loyal to the Labour government (used here as a noun, not and adjective)decides to jump ship. Marr's defection to honest journalism by asking proper questions (although I still think he is a useless interviewer)will been as an act of treason by Broon and Labour. Broon was sweating a lot. I understand that one of the side effects of some anti-depressants is sweating. Just a coincidence, I am sure.
ReplyDeleteMarr did let him get away with a lot at well, asking him about having the largest deficit then Brown answering about total national debt which isn't the same thing, allowing the lie over the tories IHT proposal and not clarifying that the non-doms tax would pay for it. I want to see him interviewed by someone like Andrew Neil.
ReplyDeleteAnd note, Brown tried to downplay the leaders debates question again, an alarming error. If he doesn't do it now he's going to be rightly portrayed as a coward but if he agrees then it'll be seen as him doing it reluctantly after having his hand forced by Cameron and Clegg (And Sky News).
Any chance you can get the Marr Quotation accurate Iain? Or did you not see the interview?
ReplyDeleteOf course I saw it. What's wrong with it?
ReplyDeleteMarr should have asked the clinically depressed Scotsman which country he was talking about.
ReplyDeleteBrown had a right to be furious, according to his perception of Marr's proper demeanour when interviewing someone as eminent as our World Statesman of the Year. This was the BBC, for God's sake. What did Marr think he was doing?
ReplyDeleteOne of very few times that JugEars has had the temerity to cast aside his usual timid, fawning subservience, although he faded a bit towards the end as Brown ground him down.
Whether it was the right thing to do, for a PM on television, is another matter. Unfortunately Brown's default mode is angry dismissal of anything he sees as criticism, which includes inconvenient questioning. Put that on top of his appearance - over made up, overweight, sweaty and shaky - and he just looked and sounded ill. A pre-conference own goal.
I don't think he said "prescription drugs such as painkillers". I think it was something like "people rely on prescription drugs like painkillers to help them get through. Are you taking them?" This allowing Brown to deny taking painkillers - which I didn't think was a prevalent rumour. "Are you taking antidepressants?" would have been a better question, instead Brown was allowed to simply deny misuse of prescription painkillers.
ReplyDeleteBut we'll know when Marr goes on iPlayer.
What's the betting Brown refuses to be interviewed by him again?
ReplyDeleteA pretty safe bet actually. His only likely interview slot would be Sunday 2 May 2010 and I'm sure he can readily avoid that. Just consider his prowess in only having attended approximately 16 PMQs during the last entire Parliamentary year
I saw the interview, and "prescription drugs such as painkillers" is certainly my memory of what was said. Anti-depressants weren't mentioned and Iain doesn't suggest they were.
ReplyDeleteQuite right,atticus finch, Matt asked the wrong question. Brown was probably honest in replying he didn't take prescribed pain killers.
ReplyDeleteNext time someone should ask him about anti-depressants. Next time say in an election question time phone-in, someone you phone the BBC with a soft question and when called switch and ask im if he's taking or has been taking anti-depressants
Oh you've changed it now from your earlier use of the word anti-depressant. The words don't even sound alike.
ReplyDeletebut he asked aout painkillers.........leaving brown free to start with 'no'.......it is anti-depressants he will be taking.....so marr let him off the hook. perhaps deliberately.
ReplyDelete'Prime minister, are you now taking, or have you ever taken, prescription medication for depression or anxiety?'
simple to ask the right question.
O/T Iain - Congrats on making the Bracknell Tory PPC shortlist, if true.
ReplyDeleteJournalists should ask one question at a time. Marr asked him about prescription drugs *and* his eyesight, so Brown answered the half of the question he wanted to. If Marr had asked only about prescription drugs, he probably would have received a one-word-no, and then he could have let a pregnant pause hang in the air, then ask again why we don't have a higher level of health disclosure (esp after Tony Blair's surprise heart problem and his fuller disclosure of it to Bill Clinton, not the UK public) for our politicians.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe for one nanosecond that Marr would stray from his NuLab script.
ReplyDeleteYou have to look at this objectively to see that it was part of the plan to get Brown's eyes in the picture. (I think that works on so many levels!)
You may think it was a terrible ordeal for Brown because of all the recent stories about mental illness and depression, but from another point of view it is more groundwork for Brown's retirement because he is going blind.
Then just like Ernie Saunders and Ken Dodd made miraculous recoveries from their illnesses after their trials, so will Brown as he heads off to the IMF to Save the World II.
As for publicising his health problems, even if you don't beieve my theory, surely it must be of public interest.
It's not as though NuLab PMs behave like Prime Ministers. Brown has appointed many unaccountable people to run the country. In theory they are only answerable to him. If he's a nutter and has appointed a series of nutters to try to run my life, then I'd be quite interested to know.
Fair question or not the thing the interview made me think of was the old joke, 'How do you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving.' I thought the PM's words were so at odds with reality and those not referring to events so characterised by cliche that I wondered how he had the chutzpah to utter them. But I suppose I am assuming a moral compass he claims he has but must surely be without. Awful.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope those of you who cant differentiate between painkillers and anti-depressants aren't GPs.
ReplyDeleteIt would be legitimate to ask the question if there were some grounds for believing it to be true other than unsubstantiated rumour floating around on some internet gossip sites.
ReplyDeleteIn the world of the web, juicy rumours float from site to site. Eventually a newspaper might be emboldened to report the fact that the rumour exists. A responsible journalist ought to ask what the foundation of the rumour is. Newspapers have been trying to stand up this story for weeks but without success. If there is no substance to it, all Marr is doing is perpetuating a smear.
'Twas the night before Conference, when all through the party;
ReplyDeleteNot a supporter was stirring, not even the hearty;
The banners were hung by the stage with care,
In hopes that St. Tony, again would be there;
The grassroots were nestled all snug in their hotel beds,
While visions of a fourth term danced in their heads;
And Harriet in her 'kerchief, and Mandelson in his cap,
Had just settled down to set the Tories a trap,
When out on the street there arose such a clatter,
Gordon sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window he flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and showed Brighton his stash.
The moon on the bonnet of Prescott’s new Jag
Gave the lustre of mid-day to Balls smoking a fag,
When, what to Gordon's wondering eyes should appear,
But a stretched limousine , and Tony in all his best gear,
With a little blond driver, so lively and quick,
He knew in a moment it must be the prick.
More rapid than eagles his curses became,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called him a name;
"You, Wanker! you, Prancer! you, great bloody Chancer!
You’ve left me with the shit and questions I can‘t answer!
From the tip of land's end, to up past the wall
They know I’ve screwed up and left them with F*ckall!"
We should remember all of Marr's questions were scripted & agreed BEFORE hand otherwise our Great Leader,who saved the Universe, would not been there.
ReplyDeleteHe is a total control freak....
IanD perhaps the Hitler bunker videos should aired again with updated subtitles Thanks
Iain you need to be more consistent with your posts. In one you accuse marr of conducting an atrocious interview with Brown. In the next you say the interview shows Marr has courage *my words*
ReplyDeleteYou Tories are a fickle bunch next week you'll be back to the usual line that he's a Labour stooge !
Since many people are saying Marr should have asked this personal question. How about if next week week he asks Cameron about his alleged drugs past and should we expect a yes or no if not why not ?
Interview now up on iplayer 47mins in:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/The_andrew_marr_show
Marr asks: "a lot of people use prescription painkillers and pills to help them get through, are you one of those people?"
What's wrong with him being ill - perhaps even mentally ill? I, for one, find it helps when making sense of a Labour Government.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the benefits of some tablets are highly questionable - so I've got a better prescription that WILL cure Brown within a month.
A General Election.
I still dont belivie a word he says
ReplyDeleteIm no fan of Broon,but even I was a little shocked at this line of questioning.Randomly placing a statement about the nations rising use of prescription drugs and then asking the Prime Minister if he was one of those people.I think it is wrong to ask this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thecep.org.uk/wordpress/2009/09/27/gordon-brown-the-hypocrit/
ReplyDeleteGordon brown the hypocrite
Andrew Marr has just interviewed Gordon Brown on the Andrew Marr Show. I didn’t catch quite all of the interview but what I did hear was priceless.
We announced a major initiative on cancer yesterday which I’ll be talking about on Tuesday. We’ve announced major changes in the way we deal with schooling so that everybody has a good school. Neighbourhood policing has been introduced in this country and is now about to be expanded over these last few years in the last few years itself. Now when we talk and go round the country and talk to people about how they can get access to the health service and the damage the Tories would do, how they can get better schooling and the cuts in education the Tories would bring, how we can get neighbourhood policing better so it’s more accountable to the people and the cuts that would happen after the Conservatives came into that front line service and I talk to people about social care and we’ve got a huge programme to help elderly people who are worried, some of them sick to death about having to be in institutional care without the money to pay for it and we have put forward proposals that have an answer to that problem.
[...]
And we need a politics that is far more accountable directly to the people in so many different ways.
Major initiative on cancer – health care is devolved. Major changes for schooling – education is devolved. Neighbourhood policing – policing is devolved. Huge programme for social care – social care is devolved.
When Gordon Brown said “this country” he meant England. As usual he refused to say England and Andrew Marr failed to correct him. And when Gordon Brown immediately followed his announcement of entirely English policies with a declaration that we need politics to be directly accountable to the people, Marr failed to point out that nobody in England can hold Gordon Brown to account for his health, education, police and social care policies and they don’t affect his constituents in Scotland so they won’t hold him to account for them either.
He is an unelected, unaccountable, unwanted Prime Minister and Andrew Marr is a typical BBC sycophant.
"The moon on the bonnet of Prescott's new Jag. Gave the lustre of mid-day to Balls smoking a fag." Daily Referendum.
ReplyDeleteEd Balls smoking "a fag"?
Cue new internet rumours. Hee! Hee! Hee!
Big balls maybe but I think he blew the chance.
ReplyDeleteI could feel Marr regretting the use of the eyes as a way in. This was about anti-depressants and by leading with the eye Brown was able to answer it. Then, because Marr had already pushed the button by raising the question he did not have the nuts to really follow through and get a better answer.
Wasted opportunity.
Of course the question should be asked - the man is ruining this country. However, I do not believe that Marr was being 'brave' in doing so. He has been in the pocket of the Left since his days selling the Socialist Worker. The rumours of Brown's consumption of anti-depressants are out there - how better to try to put a lid on than getting the pet interviewer to ask a question in which it is coupled with concerns about eyesight, allowing a swift dismissal of the important question followed by a 5 minute monologue on how his sight is perfect. It also gave him the opportunity to stress how his eye injury was caused by the manly sport of rugby.
ReplyDeleteMarr proved something to a lot of sceptics this morning. That he has some big, fat, hairy ones.
ReplyDeleteIndeed and given Marrs' speculation about peeing on conkers this morning in the paper review (whatever happened to soaking them in vinegar and sticking them in the oven?)I have a dreadful vision of him exposing them in order to make his kids conker champions!
And now I'm going to sloosh my brain with 'mind bleach'!
;o)
Instead of skimmimg the other comments, as I normally do, I read each one, and I can't believe nobody has mentioned the amount of sweating that Brown was doing. He can lie but his body can't !.
ReplyDeleteA higher authority will arraign many.
ReplyDeleteI reckon Marr was just being a good little poodle. There have been rumours that Brown is on the "happy pills", so by asking a carefully-scripted question Marr firstly put the rumours into the open and then presented Brown with an open goal for his rebuttal.
ReplyDeleteJob done. very cleverly IMHO.
It would still sem to be a timid question. 'pills' is a bit vague. Brown may be on 'pills' but talking about painkillers allows him to say 'no'.
ReplyDeleteAny way - 2 things. I don't believe the rumours and it also sets a prescient for Marr to be even more rude to Cameron.
If Marr wanted to be really forceful he could have raised the question about the leaks about Browns diet and the conclusions people have drawn.
Brown is simply a pillock who is desperate to avoid being confronted with the failure of everything he has believed in. The correct line of questioning is to query the new paradigm he is drawing up to cover this fact.
My opinon of Marr falls every week.
ReplyDeleteWe've all read the rumours - which appear to have some foundation. We have a right to know if our Prime Minister is reliant on prescription drugs, so yes, Marr was right to ask.
ReplyDeleteI think that it very mannered to intrude on personal c, it is like saying " Your breathe smells and you have a wart on your nose and your flies are half undone, by the way your eyes are bleary are you on drugs!
ReplyDeleteI would ask Cameron why he looks like a nervous dog,licking his lips so frequently and salivating!
But I won't ask him because it is rude!
@Anonymous IanVisits - I think you'll find the US President has less power in his country than a UK prime minister does in his.
ReplyDeleteHence the mental well being of a man who can make life or death decisions for thousands in a crisis is very much a matter of legitimate public concern.
It would be better to formalise this with annual health checks for key cabinet members with a crown representative being advised of the result to HRH could dismiss ministers when they are clearly unfit for office.
I do suspect Marr's odd reference to "painkillers" was a deliberate ploy to give Brown an easy loophole to escape through, defusing or at least weakening the rumours of anti-depressant use. The questioning should have been more along the lines of "Considering the mess you've made of the nation's finances, are you on antidepressants yet, and if not, why not?"
ReplyDeleteBrown's apparent anger at being asked the question was either feigned or misplaced - although of course just having had to answer the question could perhaps be his "I am not a crook" moment: if you have to ask the question, that's answer enough in itself.
Yes he should have asked it - Gordon is the PM.
ReplyDeleteI could almost see his brain whirring during the giant pause before he answered.
He was almost certainly working out if he'd been asked about painkillers or anti-depressants. The fact that he then went onto waffle on and on about his eyes made it even more odd.
Marr has grown some this morning - shame he let Gordon bulldoze over him on the other questions.
And deliberately swapping deficits with debts was dishonest.
At one stage Brown had his hands out palms downwards and I felt he was going to do an impression of Tommy Cooper "Just like that!".
ReplyDeleteThen he rubbed both palms on his thighs like I have seen Vic Reeves do on Shooting Stars when he fancies a female guest.
Brown should have responded that he is taking ointment for his piles...
What people should be asking is how this a demented sociopath like Brown was elevated to the position of PM.
ReplyDeleteIt is an appalling endictment of our democracy that a man who is obviously disturbed was given such an opportunity.
Brown HAS to be stopped. If his own party won't get rid of him, can't the Mental Health Act be invoked?
God this is scraping the barrel
ReplyDeleteNice and comfy, in bed with New Labour, Simon?
You know, I can't think of a reason for any of my Welsh relatives voting Plaid Cymru. Either vote for the dog (Labour) that wags the tail (PC) or vote for one of the opposition parties, instead.
Unless Marr has heard another rumour? People can easily become addicted to prescription pain killers. Usually opiate-based.
ReplyDeleteMaar's question looked staged.
ReplyDeletehard left marr has no credibility.
ReplyDeleteis he trying to move to the centre?
not in my life.he is not a stupid man,came from a good family,must know how destructive left wing politics is,but...must have an event in his life to make him soo chippy.
As the owner of website www.notbornyesterday.org (the original source of the Brown Health stories)I'd like to make a few points:
ReplyDelete1. Marr had every right to ask the health questions. A senior civil servant suffering with his multiple problems would've been pensioned off. I just cannot understand why Marr blew it by failing to ask about anti-depressants.
2. In my view (and that of thousands of the well-informed, including Matthew Parris and Tony Blair) Brown now no longer knows when he is lying. His answers to every last question suggested a man delusionally unable to tell grounded reality from bunker fiction.
3. It is perfectly possible that Brown's eyesight hasn't declined and he isn't taking any form of medication for mental or physical pain. But if so, this means literally hundreds of senior people in politics,journalism and government are lying. This strikes me (even in those professions) as highly unlikely.
4. My original article was based on hearing a senior mandarin's statement about the PM's proscribed foods. Only somebody on MAOI anti-depressants would not be allowed such foods.Ask any doctor: they will confirm that.
Of course such questions are allowable: we had a delusional PM during Suez - and look what happened there. The voters are entitled to know if a PM's physical sight and mental insight are seriously at fault.
John Ward
What?
ReplyDeleteGiven that Marr has spent - like Nick Robinson - most of the past two years studiously avoiding asking Brown anything remotely "difficult", it's about bloody time.
ReplyDelete"And deliberately swapping deficits with debts was dishonest."
ReplyDeleteSo why did Marr not point this out and ask again?
Marr is as thick as Brown thinks we all are.
Brown's 'interesting' appearances on you tube surely make that question inevitable and imperative.
ReplyDeleteMarr knows that after June next year the BBC will be in the sights of the Tories, so Marr is doing what the BBC want which is to try to force Brown out and get in someone else to try to see if they can rob the Tories of victory.
ReplyDeleteIainVisits: Utter crap. This shite Government already has OUR medical records to access and to flog those details to the highest bidder, so knowing if McCoward is a junkie or not is perfectly valid.
ReplyDeleteof course its legitimate for us to know the health of our pm and other political leaders. Whats not legitimate is for bloggers to make stuff up, which it seems they do, and the fein amazement when a real journalist asks the questions that bloggers had been spinning. same old same old blogging.
ReplyDeleteMother's Little Helper and Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones).
ReplyDeleteJust to keep a balance, next week, I trust Marr will be asking Cameron about the rumours in relation to coke?
First Marr asked him about his eye, before throwing in a vaguely worded question about painkillers or "pills to get you through". This allowed Gordon to waffle about his detached retina, when we want to know exactly how dangerously crackers he is.
ReplyDeleteJohn Ward - when you said you heard a senior mandarin's statement, d you mean that the mandarin communicated to you directly or that his/her words were reported by a third party? If it came from a third party, does that person have any ulterior motive for spreading this story? Is there any supporting evidence?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see that interview.
ReplyDeleteHowever as an expat, still a UK taxpayer, in part funding the BBC I don't get to see the BBC iPlayer. Shame. I'd love to watch this guys final moments.
How many Journos and MPs suffer from stress/ pain/ need tablets/ high blood pressure/ bad temper/ alcohol problems/ failed marriages/ sweaty arm pits/ sexual disfunction/ pee problems/sticking out ears/ baldness?
ReplyDeleteDo we really need to know the colour of their underpants?
WHO in the past 50 years HAS been fit to be the Prime Minister of one of the pleasantest kindest countries in the western world?
I feel that bullying anyone is not nice- I hate this type of telly frankness- it is wrong, and reminds of the harranguing that Diana attracted, bad bad bad.
When the next big interview is broadcast, can we go through the tick box on both sides (Interviewer and guest)
There is a one very legitimate reason to ask about the health of a Prime Minister...He is the one with access to our Nuclear Deterrant. It is precisely because of such responsibility that we are entitled to ask more.
ReplyDeleteIain, do you think that somebody who takes antidepressants would be unfit to be Prime Minister?
ReplyDeleteHow on earth can you praise Marr? The health question apart, he barely laid a glove on Brown and let him drone on and on and ..........
ReplyDeleteAlastair Campbell fessed up to being a depressive..result was RESPECT for Campbell.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Gordon go on the defensive for just the slightest attack?
Fair question? Of course it was fair? Brown is the leader of our country, guiding our history, we cannot allow very basic doubts on his medial ability to do the job to go unanswered because we are all too nice to mention them. This coming from a Deputy Council Leader with recurring cancer who has repeatedly been asked if he is healthy enough to do the job.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, it was good for Brown too because it is much better that he denies this on camera than let rumours swirl around.
BBC News has the video clip of Brown being asked THE question here.
ReplyDeleteHe never said that he was not taking tranquillisers or anti depressants.
ReplyDeleteRe-read the exchange.
Lies by omission
The interview was a setup.
ReplyDeleteBrown was set up with the deficit and debt nuance and then launched into his tractor stats.
He was also let of by the sin of omission, answering only about painkillers.
Wake up and smell the coffee, Marr is right up Gordon's arse.
Brown was only happy to talk about his eyesight and the rest of the question was brushed firmly below the carpet.....as planned!
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who knows that Gordon Brown lost an eye but, for the life of me, I cannot work out which one it is!
ReplyDeleteSomeone earlier posted that, in theory, the PM is first amongst equals so, the question of his health should be irrelevant, as the cabinet as a whole would sort the problem out.
I disagree.
We are moving towards an unofficial presidency in this country. Thatcher started it, Major was an interlude then Blair moved it into unchartered territories.
He even managed to cajole the cabinet into an illegal war FFS!
We must have more disclosure about the health of our PM. If he were on very strong painkillers (which I doubt) this should be known to the public.
In Brown's case this may not do him any harm. A couple of members of my family are on very strong painkillers and they are doing very well indeed.
No. Marr was well out of line. Moreover, his *incredible* interuption to state that it was a "fair question" really took the biscuit. This is the United Kingdom, not the USA, where trash like this is seen all too regularly.
ReplyDeleteThe mental health of a sitting prime minister should a matter of public record. Unfortunately Marr didn't have enough 'hairy ones' to ask the right question.
ReplyDeletePowerful antidepressants that affect judgement and are no longer normally prescribed except for the most profound cases of depression should have no role to play in day to day running of our country.
I have no high regard for Brown whatsoever but just for accuracy:
ReplyDeleteMarr did say that the studio was very hot when he was interviewing Fatboy Slim
MAOIs do not generally have profuse sweating as a side-effect. That is generally an SSRI med like Prozac type symptom.
MAOI prescription fell off because of interactions with some food etc that could cause dangerous rises in blood pressure.
Protocol would be try SSRI then trycyclic then MAOI. Easier to go from trycyclic to MAOI than other way round. They are not more powerful than other anti-dep meds.
Bash the Broon but with accuracy please!
I think the whole thing was a set-up. Brown was not asked if he was taking anti-depressants and he answered a question about pain-killers. Nobody is talking about pain killers, they are talking about hard drugs for depression and anxiety - a legitimate question to ask of someone who clearly looks like he went down the Yellow Brick Road years ago.
ReplyDeleteFor get outs, that's a big one. Brown can look suitably agrieved, Marr has done his duty and we can all feel terribly guilty for even thinking such a thing.
You're thinking about Marr's balls...ye gads man, what a horrid thought!
ReplyDeleteMy only thought about this is "big deal!"
ReplyDeleteMarr was renowned for Toadying to Labour politicians and being hostile to Tory ones. Most of us already knew a long time ago that the PM is a mentalist.
Marr only asked this question because even he sees the writing is on the wall that these Labour yobboes are finished. Even the BBC appear to realize this.
No, he just wants to generate a bit of controversy to help bolster his faceless career.
To ask this type of question a journalist should have some evidence. Blog rantings are not evidence.
ReplyDeleteDearie me Anonymous at 3:33
ReplyDeleteThat is why it was all a set-up.
I think this was a great interview - not because of the questions asked by Marr - but how Brown answered them. He delivered a fantastic response to the Marr's questions and has made me want to vote for the first time.
ReplyDeleteI believe Grodon Brown is the only person who can pull us through this recession and lead our country again be the strong, respected and admired country that is was once known. Immature media namecalling and brainwashing has now left our country (not our leader)the source of embarrassment of how our press shows our own coutry (remember the words of Australia's first who could not understand why Britains own media would purposely make their own coutry look so bad - particualry when this is not the view of the rest of the world) . The press/media are so short sighted that they cannot see what damage they are doing to our country's future and it seems they do not care about the U.K and are quite happy to make a name for themselves and protect their short term finances. They themselves are damaging our reputation and will be our undoing.
Gordon Brown has been nominated World Statesman by the other world leaders and and they are following his lead and advice so I have to ask the question why is our media not celebrating this fact regardless of what party they support.
MY answer: Large corporations and big business' are so scared of Gordon Brown as they know he will make them more accountable for their actions and stop them making such huge profits for themselves.
I ask why, do the BBC always overshadow any success story of Gordon Brown with hateful gossip and misconceptions (such as the supposed snubbings by the US)? Because they know Gordon Brown has the balls to retract the T.V licence and I am quite sure that during David Camerons secret talks with the BBC, David would have promised not to do that if given support by the BBC.
Rupert Murdoch is another one who would not benefit from Gordon Brown carrying on as PM so that is why he is changing support - Looking through the Suns history he changes support depending on who will be of benefit to him.
I am sick of not having true neutral news reporting from anyone. For the average person - they do not see that they are being manipulated into their beliefs as they are only being shown what the media wants them to see and not what is true, accurate and impartial. It is almost at the stage where in dictatorial countries there t.v and media is censored and only shows them what their government wamts them to see - over here it is the other way round, the media only show what they want to portray to protect their own circumstances and not what is really happening.
Gordon Brown is a realist, strong and knows how to protect our country and build it to be again a strong, fair constitution.
Don't be blind sighted by media's individuals egotistic hunger for fame and fortune - check out Euronews and other countries media as they actually portray more truth than our own.
Make your own decisions by establishing the truth not the hearsay and don't trust the bankers, politicans, large business owners who will now have to pay more towards our country instead of the real people.