Robert Peston utters expletive due to technical issue at coronavirus briefing

Journalist Robert Peston appeared to utter an expletive before he asked a question at the Government’s daily coronavirus briefing.

The ITV political editor seemed to struggle with technical problems as he dialled in remotely to quiz the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.

Peston mentioned that his connection to the briefing did not seem to be stable and appeared to say “Oh shit” when Mr Sunak called on him to ask his question.

Afterwards, Peston retweeted a clip of the moment, and said: “Just to clear up any misunderstanding, screen froze at precisely the moment chancellor turned to me!”

The daily briefings, often led by the Prime Minister and broadcast on television, were initially held in a room full of journalists in Downing Street, but reporters now dial in and appear on a screen asking questions remotely.