Tokyo 2020: Dan Walker’s dig at Sam Quek over hockey defeat
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The 44-year-old has been presenting the BBC’s coverage of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo that were delayed from last year because of COVID-19. He has been analysing highlights of several sports alongside former Team GB field hockey player Sam Quek. Dan is known for his relaxed presenting style on sports programmes like the BBC’s ‘Football Focus’. However, the broadcaster also has also interviewed a string of politicians during his time on BBC Breakfast and has a reputation for sparking the occasional on-screen controversy.
One such moment came when Dan grilled the UK’s former Minister for Leaving the EU, Stephen Barclay, for the programme last year.
Sat on the show’s famous red sofa, Dan quizzed the politician about Britain’s EU withdrawal deadline and what would happen if it left the trading bloc without a deal.
Things became heated when the BBC host appeared to accuse Mr Barclay of avoiding answering his questions.
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He said: “I don’t want to keep asking the same thing.
“So there are no preparations in place for a potential no deal at the end of the year – a no deal exit?”
At first Mr Barclay didn’t give a straight answer, before he said: “What I’m saying is it won’t be no deal.
“What I think is within your question is what happens if there isn’t a trade deal in place.”
The on-air clash drew a huge backlash on social media, with some users claiming that Dan hadn’t pressed the Conservative Minister hard enough.
Dan addressed the fallout in a tweet after the show, branding the comments, “New year… same garbage.”
He said: “First Brexit interview of 2020 on BBC Breakfast and back to the ‘normal’ responses after talking to Stephen Barclay.”
The host listed some of the comments he received, including one who asked the host if he could be “any more of a Tory boy?”
Others called on Dan to challenge Mr Barclay, while one wrote: “Stop being so left wing and antagonistic.”
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In the comments section, some Twitter users were supportive of Dan however, including one who wrote: “Ignore most responses on social media and keep doing what you do.
“High percentage of morons on here that would be absolutely useless interviewing anyone, let alone an MP or someone in the public eye.”
The UK withdrew from the EU in January last year after the country voted to leave in the 2016 referendum by a majority of 52 percent.
Mr Barclay resigned as Brexit Secretary in February last year just moments after the UK officially left the EU.
He was appointed by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018 after his predecessors, David Davis and Dominic Raab, both quit the role over disagreements with the Government.
The UK and the EU reached a landmark trade agreement before New Year.
However, in recent months the two sides have sparred over a number of issues including fishing quotas and trade in Northern Ireland.
The EU has refused to shift its inflexible stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs how the country is able to import goods from Britain after Brexit.
Stringent EU post-Brexit border checks on a range of British products, including on fresh meat, have created chaos for businesses in Northern Ireland and shortages of some products in supermarkets.
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