What do you do when an interviewee objects to a question?

It had been an amiable encounter with the enthusiastic CEO of RIM, makers of Blackberry, who was keen to show off his latest product. We started by shooting a 'show and tell', with Mike Lazaridis putting his new tablet, the Blackberry Playbook, through its paces.

Then I asked what I thought was a fairly innocuous question about RIM's issues in India and the Middle East, where governments have been concerned that the Blackberry's very high standard of security make it difficult for the police and security services to monitor.

Mr Lazaridis (above) just stopped, stared at me, then made clear his displeasure with the question; while his PR assistant told us the interview was over.

We packed up and left the hotel suite, with some embarrassment on both sides, and then discussed amongst ourselves how we should handle the interview. Yes, Mr Lazaridis had told us not to use it - but we had not agreed to comply. And we had given no commitment to stick to easy questions about the product.

We looked back at the way the interview ended - there was plenty of toing and froing even after Mr Lazaridis had told me that the question was "unfair". 

At a certain point, he asked us to stop the camera, though a second camera kept recording. We decided that we could play the clip up until that point - and consulted the BBC's Editorial Policy team, who agreed.

Were we unfair? I don't believe so. If a politician had done the same thing - refused to answer a question central to his or her party's fortunes - we would not hesitate to show that. Should we be more cautious when a business leader loses it on camera? I don't think so. 

Rory Cellan-Jones is the BBC's technology correspondent.