Kirsty Wark on irritating Margaret Thatcher and that Prince Andrew interview

Published

7 months ago

September 27, 2024

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Kirsty Wark says she preferred A Very British Scandal to Scoop, as while one was a “rollicking drama” the other failed to give “enough people their place”.

Employed by the BBC for nearly 50 years, Wark presented Newsnight from 1993 to 2024, stepping down this summer after more than three decades at the helm.

Speaking at the fourth live show of Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction tour in Glasgow, the BAFTA-winning journalist also dished the dirt on one former BBC colleague she said was not the best “team player”.

Kicking off with one of the BBC’s most notorious interviews, Wark said Emily Maitlis got chosen to interview Prince Andrew as she was chief presenter of Newsnight at the time.

The interview – which aired in November 2019 – was swiftly branded “disastrous” and “excruciating” for the royal, as he was questioned about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

When asked by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby which of the two recent TV productions based on the interview – Scoop and A Very Royal Scandal – she preferred, Wark plumped for A Very British Scandal.

Released earlier this month, Maitlis was an executive producer on the Prime Video miniseries.

Wark said: “They’re both dramas, and neither is an absolute, you know it’s not about the truth.

“One gives more weight to some people and the other one gives more weight to other people, but by and large, the idea of it being a team endeavour is much more embedded in the second, the Royal Scandal, than it is in the first.

“The first was a rollicking drama, but I don’t actually think that enough people were given their place.”

Scoop, which streamed on Netflix, focused on the story from the angle of Newsnight guest booker Sam McAlister who persuaded Prince Andrew to appear on the show.

Wark said that at the time Prince Andrew had “thought he’d done a really good interview”, and after the chat had offered to show Maitlis around Buckingham Place.

‘I was the one who suggested his train travels!’

Speaking about some of her own interviews over the years, Wark told Rigby, along with co-hosts Labour peer Harriet Harman and Conservative peer Ruth Davidson, about two high-profile interviewees she had rubbed up the wrong way.

She sat down with former prime minister Margaret Thatcher at the height of the poll tax riots.

Wark said she was “preternaturally calm” and had prepared meticulously going on: “Nobody knew except my husband that I was pregnant. And I thought, well, I’m not going to let [Mrs Thatcher] upset me. I’ll be very calm and controlled.”

After the interview – which Wark said nearly got cancelled at the last minute – Thatcher told Wark she had “interrupted me more than I’ve ever been interrupted”, to which Wark said she thought “game on”.

Remembering another interviewee who did not appreciate her journalistic tenacity, Wark said a sit-down with the former Conservative MP Michael Portillo did not end well.

Wark said the ex-chief secretary to the Treasury had “riled her” by saying “stop hectoring me”.

She admitted she had interviewed him after she “returned to work too soon” following the death of her father and godmother.

Wark joked: “The only broadcasting complaint I ever had upheld was with Michael Portillo. And actually, it’s outrageous because I was the one who suggested them for the train travels!”

The former Conservative MP has presented 15 series of Great British Railway Journeys for BBC Two over the last 15 years.

A former BBC colleague who wasn’t ‘a team player’

She also revealed that when her former BBC colleague Robert Peston had come along to do a few shifts on Newsnight, he had refused to follow the show’s precedent of brainstorming ideas together, and wearing an earpiece so others could pitch in on an interview.

After letting Peston shadow her the day before, she came into work to discover he was going solo for his own interview, adding with heavy irony that he was “a real team player”. Peston is now political editor at ITV News.

In other TV news, Wark admitted she had been “asked so many times” to do Strictly Come Dancing but had so far refused due to work commitments and illness.

She did not reveal if she would consider it in the future.

A keen cook, Wark has appeared on celebrity versions of MasterChef and The Great British Bake Off.

Missed Thursday’s show? Don’t worry, the full programme will be published here on Friday morning.

You can also listen back to our previous three episodes, recorded in London, Salford and Liverpool.

Politics

Trump’s crypto dealings face scrutiny as House Republicans unveil digital asset bill

Published

27 mins ago

May 5, 2025

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Trump’s crypto dealings face scrutiny as House Republicans unveil digital asset bill

US President Donald Trump’s crypto businesses are drawing increased scrutiny on Capitol Hill and beginning to influence the progress of US digital asset legislation. As Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives unveiled their draft of a digital asset market structure bill on May 5, Democrats prepared for a united response to Donald Trump’s deepening connections with the industry.

Speaking to Cointelegraph on May 5, a Democratic staffer with knowledge of the matter said that House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters planned to lead some members of her party out of a Republican-led hearing discussing digital assets. The May 6 hearing, entitled “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets” and led by Committee Chair French Hill, could address draft legislation proposed by Republican lawmakers to establish a crypto market regulatory structure.

In a May 5 statement, Rep. Hill and three top Republicans unveiled the draft bill, which could clarify the treatment of digital assets by the US’s financial regulators: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Hill and others echoed some of Trump’s talking points on crypto — e.g, making the US a “crypto capital of the world” — suggesting deference to the president’s previously announced policies.

The draft bill included a provision requiring the SEC and CFTC to issue joint rules defining digital commodities. According to the text, transactions involving digital commodities “shall be deemed not to be an offer or sale of an investment contract” as long as the purchaser did not have “an ownership interest or other interest in the revenues, profits, or assets.”

According to the Democratic staffer, rules required all members of the House Financial Services Committee to agree to move forward with the digital asset hearing, suggesting that Waters intended to block the Republican-controlled event and conduct a shadow hearing to explore Trump’s and his family’s ties to the crypto industry. At least nine Democrats have reportedly considered a similar move to oppose a proposed stablecoin bill in the Senate.

Calls for impeachment, criticism from both sides

Some members of Congress have already called for Trump’s impeachment after he offered the opportunity for some of his top memecoin holders to tour the White House and attend a private dinner. In addition to the memecoin, the president’s family has backed the firm World Liberty Financial, which recently launched its own stablecoin, and an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm used the USD1 stablecoin to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance.

Waters, according to the staffer, requested that Hill and Republicans amend any proposed legislation to explicitly prevent potential conflicts of interest in which Trump could personally enrich himself through crypto ventures. Cointelegraph reached out to Hill’s office but did not receive a response at the time of publication. The Arkansas lawmaker reportedly said in March that the Trump family’s involvement in the crypto industry makes related legislation “more complicated.”

Republican lawmakers in the United States currently have control of the House, Senate, and presidency. At least two senators supportive of Trump have criticized his memecoin dinner, hinting that the president was selling access to his office. It’s unclear at the time of publication who among the memecoin holders could attend the May 22 dinner in person.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Politics

VanEck files for BNB ETF, first in US

Published

2 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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VanEck files for BNB ETF, first in US

Asset manager VanEck has asked US regulators for permission to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding BNB, the native token of Binance’s BNB Chain, regulatory filings show.

The ETF is designed to accumulate spot BNB (BNB) tokens and “may, from time to time, stake a portion of the [fund’s] assets through one or more trusted staking providers,” according to the ETF’s S-1 prospectus. The filing marks the first time an asset manager has filed for a BNB ETF in the United States.

The BNB token has a market capitalization of roughly $84 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. As of May 5, BNB stakers earn a yield of approximately 2.5%, according to data from Stakingrewards.com.

Binance’s BNB Chain is among the most popular smart contract networks, with a total value locked (TVL) of nearly $6 billion, according to data from DefiLlama.

Bitcoin’s “spillover” effect?

The filing comes days after Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao reportedly said he expects the popularity of Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs to eventually “spill over” into altcoins.

“This cycle so far has been the ETFs. And it’s almost all Bitcoin. Ether hasn’t had as much success but Bitcoin success will spill over to the others eventually,” CZ reportedly said during the Token2049 conference in Dubai.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted net inflows of more than $40 billion since launching in January of 2024, according to data from Farside Investors.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Investments, Markets, United States, Ethereum ETF, Bitcoin ETF, ETF — *Cumulative inflows into spot BTC ETFs. Source:* *Farside Investors*

VanEck’s filing is the newest in a flurry of filings seeking to list ETFs holding altcoins.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged dozens of cryptocurrency ETF proposals since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.

They include plans for ETFs holding native layer-1 tokens such as Solana (SOL) as well as memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE).

VanEck has filed to list other cryptocurrency ETFs over the past few months, including funds holding Solana and Avalanche (AVAX).

Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet

Politics

What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?

Crypto users are weighing in as Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, prepares to stand before a judge on May 8 to face sentencing for commodities fraud and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of the platform’s token.

In a May 2 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), prosecutors released several impact statements from individuals affected by the collapse of Celsius filed after the initial deadline. Though at least one suggested clemency for the former CEO, many told the court about the financial and personal losses caused by the crypto firm filing for bankruptcy, and hinted that Mashinsky should be held accountable for misrepresenting the company.

“Many of the people who participated in this fraud, benefited from this fraud, and potentially orchestrated this fraud will get away with zero legal consequences,” said Daniel Frishberg of Hillsborough County, Florida, in an April 24 statement. “Please do not allow Mr. Mashinsky to be one of those people (such as with probation/house arrest, as some people supporting him have requested). Please throw the book at him.”

Law, Court, Crimes, Celsius — *A victim impact statement from a Celsius user filed with the SDNY on May 2. Source: PACER*

Prosecutors have requested that Mashinsky serve up to 20 years in prison for his role in Celsius’ fraud, while the former CEO’s legal team asked for a year and one day. The judge will consider guidelines and victim statements at sentencing on May 8.

Calls for leniency and harsh prison time

Not everyone who sent in a letter to the prosecutors seemed to be in favor of Mashinsky being sent away for decades, as was former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried. SBF stood before a different federal judge in the same district in March 2024 and was handed a 25-year sentence, which he is currently serving in a California prison.

“While Celsius [sic] collapse caused significant losses, particularly for Bitcoin holders, shareholders, and borrowers, despite his mistakes, Mr. Mashinsky was, at times, the more conservative voice in an industry overflowing with unchecked greed,” said Artur Abreu in a victim impact statement.

“The twenty-year sentence suggested by the US DOJ is fair in my opinion, as Mashinsky caused pain and suffering for many crypto investors across the globe – even resulting in suicide for some of those involved,” said Web3 Deep Dive podcast host and former Cointelegraph reporter Rachel Wolfson, who lost access to Bitcoin worth about $5,000 at the time. “Harsh punishment for bad actors in the crypto industry has become necessary to ensure that the space legitimizes over time.”

Mashinsky’s sentencing will be one of the first in significant crypto cases in the district since Jay Clayton became interim US Attorney for SDNY. A Trump appointee, Clayton was previously the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and a crypto proponent on many issues.

Critics have suggested that Clayton would take a softer approach to crypto enforcement, given his ties to Wall Street firms and the industry. However, he also released a statement in April regarding a $12-million crypto case, suggesting that he supported accountability for fraudulent actions. His response to Mashinsky’s sentencing and other future cases could be a bellwether for the US Attorney’s approach to crypto.