BBC political editor's threat to kill noisy cockerel outside holiday home
BBC political editor Nick Robinson has apologised after tweeting a threat to kill a noisy cockerel at his holiday home in Suffolk.
The 49-year-old took to the social media site after being woken up at dawn by the noisy cockerel and wrote: "Awoke contemplating murder – the Suffolk countryside isn't big enough for me and the b****y cockerel who sat outside my window at 5am".
The tweet led to claims that Robinson does not understand life in the countryside as cockerels have been a feature of the village for decades.
The journalist now insists he was being a "grumpy middle aged man" and that he loves life away from the city.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "I have never and would never dream of complaining about what makes the countryside such an escape - the sights and sounds are natural and not man made.
"My tweet was a one-off cry of frustration - a sort of anti cockerel troll if you like - from a grumpy middle aged man who had not had enough sleep. I would no more want to have the cock a doodle doos silenced than to pave over the fields or fill in the estuary."
According to the Independent, Robinson bought the country home in Suffolk two years ago to escape the busy life of Westminster.
He has reportedly said in the past that he loves the village as it is "just very chilled, people are incredibly friendly and laid-back".
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