Ian Hislop has joked there was one “high point” of being involved in an incident initially thought to be a shooting earlier this week.
The Private Eye editor was travelling in a black taxi near the magazine’s office in Soho, central London, on Tuesday when the rear window of the vehicle smashed.
It was initially believed the cab had been hit by a bullet – but the Metropolitan Police later said there was “no evidence of a firearms discharge at this time”.
Hislop discussed the incident in Friday night’s pre-recorded episode of Have I Got News For You.
In a scene which played before the episode’s opening credits, Hislop could be seen telling the show’s host, panellists and studio audience: “I always say at this point I’m glad to be here, but this week I really mean it.
“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?’.”
As the audience laughed, Hislop’s rival team captain Paul Merton quipped: “I have an alibi.”
The episode was filmed on Thursday evening.
The incident took place on Dean Street in Soho
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Hislop previously thanked “everyone for their concern” following Tuesday’s incident.
A statement on social media by Private Eye read: “[Police] 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.”
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The investigation was sparked by a call from the taxi driver, who had said 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.
Police said they now believe a “mechanical fault might have caused the window to shatter”.
Hislop has served as editor of the satirical magazine since 1986 and as a team captain on Have I Got News For You since the show debuted in 1990.