There are all kinds of reasons why British government ministers have to __1__ from their posts. They might have been involved in a __2__, they might be sticking to a promise they made to resign if they did not achieve something specific, or they might just be perceived to be performing poorly. But there is another possible reason – they are afraid of a particular interviewer.

The most __3__ political interviewer on the TV is Jeremy Paxman, the presenter of the Newsnight program. Noted for his __4__ in the face of stonewalling, he once asked a government minister the same question thirteen times in succession because he was not __5__ with the response he was getting.

But on the BBC’s radio 4, John Humphrys has just as __6__ a reputation. His forte is interrupting ministers and __7__ derisively at their answers. In 2005, it emerged (in a TV interview!) that a __8__ Education Secretary knew that if she had stayed in her job, She would have had to face a __9__ from Humphrys. It was this, she __10__ that tipped her over the edge into resigning.