On 10 May 2010, while covering events on the aftermath of the general election, Boulton lost his composure with former 10 Downing Street Director of Communications Alastair Campbell, defending his impartiality in a live on-air interview after Campbell accused Boulton of political bias in favour of the Conservatives. Boulton shouted at Campbell: "Don't tell me what I think". At the time both Labour and the Conservatives were trying to broker a deal with the Liberal Democrats aimed at forming a coalition government. A similar disagreement occurred later on that evening in an exchange with Ben Bradshaw. The media regulator Ofcom received several hundred complaints about the Campbell incident from viewers. During the campaign he had been asked to calm down by Peter Mandelson when he questioned him about possible spending cuts that the "Financial Times" believed would have to be made following the election. He was also accused of bias for the way he questioned Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, it was claimed in contravention of the pre-established rules, during the leaders' debate hosted by Sky News. Ofcom rejected the complaints. On 20 January 2011 Boulton once again interviewed Alastair Campbell on Sky News, ahead of Tony Blair's appearance in front of the Iraq Inquiry. Both apologised about the incident and shook hands at the end of the interview.