Green leader Bennett sorry for 'excruciating' interview

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett has apologised to party members for what she said was a "very bad" radio interview about its housing policy.

Ms Bennett said she had suffered a "mind blank" during the "excruciating" exchange, where she tried to explain how the party would fund a pledge of 500,000 new social rental homes.

She was speaking as the Greens launched their election campaign.

Other policies include a "citizen's income" of £72

a week for all adults.

During an interview on LBC, Ms Bennett seemed to struggle to explain the funding model for the new homes, saying she had a "huge cold".

Later, speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics, she said a fully costed manifesto would be published in March.

"I had a very bad interview on housing this morning," she said.

"I am very happy to confess that and I am very sorry to the Green Party members who I did not do a very good job representing our policies on.

"That happens, I am human."

The policy would cost £27bn, she said (although she had earlier mistakenly said £2.7bn in the LBC interview) which would be partly funded by removing tax relief on mortgage interest for private landlords.

BBC News - Election 2015: Green leader Bennett sorry for 'excruciating' interview