Have I Got News For You star Ian Hislop jokes about 'gunshots' drama

by · Mail Online

Ian Hislop opened the BBC's Have I Got News For You broadcast by joking about his taxi window being smashed by 'gunshots' earlier this week, as he revealed what the police asked him.

The Private Eye editor had been travelling along Dean Street in London when glass from the back window shattered inside the vehicle with initial reports suggesting someone had fired a weapon.

However this was soon dismissed by officers who confirmed there is 'no evidence of a firearms discharge at this time'.

On the show Hislop laughed: 'I always say at this point I'm glad to be here, but this week I really mean it'.

He continued on the BBC comedy quiz show: 'There was one high point when a policeman investigating me said 'this may be a silly question, but is there anyone who might have a grudge against you?'.'

His fellow team captain Paul Merton joked: 'I have an alibi.'

Ian Hislop opened the BBC 's Have I Got News For You broadcast by joking about his taxi window being smashed by 'gunshots' earlier this week, as he revealed what the police asked him
Ian Hislop is well known as one of the team captains on BBC panel show Have I Got News For You opposite Paul Merton (pictured)
New pictures have shown the cab involved being loaded on to a truck in Soho, central London

Hislop previously issued a statement thanking 'everyone for their concern' over the incident.

'He can confirm that there was an incident in a taxi yesterday in which a rear window shattered, and the police are investigating,' the statement said.

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'They were initially looking into the possibility of a shot having been fired but have now indicated that there may be another more innocent explanation for what happened.'

The investigation followed a call from the driver, who had reported he was 'stationary in traffic in Dean Street when a shot was fired towards his vehicle, striking the window and damaging it'.

No injuries were reported, with police launching an investigation, and seizing the vehicle.

Several locals on Dean Street told MailOnline they did not hear any noise akin to a gunshot at the time the window shattered.

An eyewitness said Mr Hislop could be seen sitting outside a local restaurant as police were seen looking at the car, which had its back window smashed.

'I saw him - he was shaking,' the man added. 'When you're a political journalist like him, you've got to be careful.'

Hislop's magazine Private Eye is renowned for its satirical articles, jokes and cartoons as well as in-depth investigations into the rich and powerful
The incident took place on Dean Street (pictured), close to the offices of Private Eye magazine

Footage taken by a local shows the taxi being lifted into a truck, the back window partially smashed.

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One worker nearby said: 'We had a lot of people coming in who told us the police were outside - then heard it was Ian Hislop in the taxi.

'I saw all the police officers out in the street, then the taxi being taken away.'

A local worker, who asked not to be named, said: 'I just saw the taxi in the street - it was parked just up there [beside the Soho Theatre].

'My colleague spotted it - all of the window at the back was smashed in, just a little black cab. I think I saw it at about 10.30am - with all the police alongside.'

Another local employee told MailOnline how Hislop was regularly seen in the trendy thoroughfare, which is yards from the Private Eye offices on Carlisle Street.

Hislop, 64, has served as a team captain on the BBC comedy current affairs quiz show since its first episode in 1990, and has been the editor of Private Eye magazine since 1986.