We will not let you go
I like this.
Can’t Paxo do this with Posh Boy Dave?
A Sri Lankan government minister was taken hostage by a TV station after he complained it had failed to cover one of his speeches.
Mervyn Silva entered the offices of Rupavahini TV in Colombo after it failed to air his speech at a ceremony to reopen a bridge destroyed by the 2004 tsunami.
A three-hour stand-off ensued after one of the Labour minister’s aides dragged the station’s news director out of the newsroom and tore open his shirt, according to reports.
Staff at the state-owned broadcaster then hemmed the minister and his entourage into a room and would not let him leave, demanding an apology.
Silva was released after he apologised for the incident – but a crowd outside the broadcaster pelted him with stones and sprayed him with red paint and dirty water as he was escorted by police to his vehicle. Some witnesses said the water contained urine.
The drama was broadcast live on Rupavahini TV, which broadcast a statement interrupting its usual programming to say the minister was being held in an office by staff.
Commandos and police with tear gas were deployed around the station as the real-life drama played out.
Local television showed hundreds of people at the premises shouting and jeering at the minister, who has been involved in previous disagreements with the media.