Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman is Britain's most feared television interviewer. He destroyed BBC director general Mark Thompson last month in a forensic examination about the corporation's strategic review. Yet he barely landed a blow on Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg in tonight's election interview. 

Bizarrely, Paxman devoted the opening 10 minutes of the interview to an interrogation about the Lib Dems' immigration policy – hardly fertile ground. Yet he barely asked about Clegg's preference for partners should the Lib Dems hold the balance of power on 7 May. And he ignored Clegg's bizarre claim that a hung parliament (the party's best hope) may lead to riots. 

Gordon Brown and David Cameron must be desperate to do Newsnight after Clegg's success.