THE Telegraph has confirmed that a report of Laura Kuenssberg and Michael Gove facing off in a rap battle and dance-off at the Conservative Party conference was false.
In a now-deleted tweet from Telegraph journalist Dominic Penna, it was said that the BBC’s political editor took on the senior Tory minister at an after party following Boris Johnson’s closing speech.
The incident was said to have happened as a Tory MP sang Vanilla Ice hit, Ice Ice Baby, on karaoke.
Penna also claimed BBC Newsnight editor Lewis Goodall also got involved. He was said to have performed ABBA’s Dancing Queen and quipped during the performance: “Have we got any Tory scum in the audience?” – a reference to controversial remarks from Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner about Tory Cabinet members.
Penna's tweet about the incident was posted last night but has since been deleted.
The BBC insisted the report was "completely untrue" before the Telegraph later confirmed that it had not happened..
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The Telegraph's evening newsletter said: "Party conferences pass in a blur. Contrary to my report yesterday from INHouse karaoke, Laura Kuenssberg did not have a dance-off and rap battle with Cabinet minister Michael Gove.
"The BBC political editor was there, and chatting to people on the edge of the dance floor, with hundreds of other people. But no shapes were thrown with disc-loving Govey."
The Telegraph journalist also said earlier that although Gove was able to take part in a rap battle and dance-off, his advisers refused to let him take part in the karaoke.
“He’s not doing it,” one aide said. “Look at that Hancock video from a few years back when someone filmed him. He never recovered.”
The Levelling-Up minister told reporters he would have performed Sunshine of Leith given the chance.
READ MORE: Gove's latest dance moves and other Tory conference moments nobody asked for
Earlier this week, Conservative Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries railed against alleged nepotism at the BBC.
She urged the corporation to be “more accessible” to the wider public, and “not just people whose mum and dad worked there”.
Speaking at her party’s conference, the top Tory warned the BBC may not exist in a decade's time as she took aim at its "elitist" approach and "lack of impartiality".
The Culture Secretary was left red-faced after reports of her own nepotism resurfaced. In 2012, it was revealed by the Daily Mirror that Dorries hired her two daughters in secretarial roles in her private office – costing the taxpayer up to £80,000.
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