London, May 13 (AFP): A London cabbie suffered an awkward few moments of fame when the BBC mistook him for a computer expert and interviewed him live on the flagship news 24 channel, the corporation admitted today.

The real expert was Guy Kewney, a journalist specialising in computer issues who had been invited to comment on Apple Computer’s legal battle with Apple Corps, The Beatles’ music publishing company.

Awaiting his moment in a back room of the BBC studios last Monday, Kewney glanced idly at the television and was astonished to see that presenter Karen Bowerman was supposedly already interviewing him. But the uneasy-looking black man on the screen bore no resemblance to the bearded, ginger pundit, though he was doing his best to answer Bowerman’s questions.