The art of the political apology

In the week Boris Johnson finally said sorry for the mistakes made by his government during the COVID-19 pandemic, host Aggie Chambre explores the art of the political apology — and asks how politicians can redeem themselves after completely screwing up. 

Johnson's former Downing Street aide Cleo Watson analyses her former boss's apology, and why he chose to deploy it this week. 

Neil Parish, the former Tory MP who apologized — and quit — after getting caught pornography in the House of Commons chamber, discusses his slow path toward redemption. And former minister Brooks Newmark recalls his bleakest moments after he was embroiled in an infamous sexting scandal in 2014, and why he felt he had no choice but to apologize and resign.

Veteran journalist Steve Richards recalls some of the most famous political apologies of our age. And former Lib Dem aide Sean Kemp explains how Westminster's most famous apology of recent times — his old boss Nick Clegg's "sorry" over tuition fees — actually came about. 

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