This excruciating footage of Boris Johnson shows video journalism at its best

To his credit, on Monday ITV reporter Joe Pike remembered the golden rules of performing an interview to camera

“Did you threaten to overrule him?” asked Jeremy Paxman for the 12th time. The year was 1997, the topic a meeting between prisons chief Derek Lewis and home secretary Michael Howard. As far as terrible and embarrassing interviews go, there are few as well known as that one. More than 20 years later, people still talk about it and it is still the question that Paxman is most famous for.

On Monday, Boris Johnson endured what is likely to be a similarly historic moment.

While asking the prime minister about a photo that emerged over the weekend – of a four-year-old boy suffering with suspected pneumonia, who was forced to lie on a pile of coats during an eight-hour wait at Leeds General Infirmary – ITV reporter Joe Pike remembered one of the golden rules of performing interviews on camera: actions that are not taken, or words that are not said, are as important as those that are.