Ian Hislop laughs about taxi shooting incident on Have I Got News For You | Ian Hislop

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop laughed at an incident in which the window of a taxi he was traveling in was shattered by a gunshot.

Hislop, 64, gave a lighthearted response to the incident on Friday's edition of the BBC's Have I Got News For You.

“I always say at this point that I'm glad to be here, but this week I really mean it,” he joked to the audience.

With a wry smile, he recalled a “highlight” of the incident.

“A police officer who was investigating me said, 'This may be a stupid question, but is there anyone who might have a grudge against you?'”

Paul Merton, the team's regular captain, immediately replied: “I have an alibi.”

On Tuesday, police were called after a black taxi driver stuck in traffic in Soho, central London, heard what was believed to be a bullet shattering his window.

Following an “urgent” investigation, examining CCTV footage and a forensic examination, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that a mechanical failure was the more likely explanation.

Investigators found no evidence of a firearm being discharged.

Although Hislop was able to laugh it off with his usual wit a few days later, he was apparently shaken by the incident that occurred on Dean Street.

In a statement posted on social media, he thanked everyone “for their concern.” The editor also thanked the officials who dealt with the incident.

Hislop, once described by the Independent as “the most sued man in English legal history”, has been editor of Private Eye since 1986. He has been a panellist since the BBC quiz show began in 1990.