Climate change denier Sarah Palin: 'Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am'

Ex-Alaska governor promotes Climate Hustle film and calls for intervention to stop the 'peer pressure' as world leaders agree global warming is a serious threat

Of all the causes Sarah Palin has embraced in her varied career as hockey mom, Alaska governor, Republican vice-presidential nominee, Fox television commentator and Donald Trump supporter, none perhaps may be as bold or - as she still likes to say, "rogue" - as trying to take down a much-beloved children's television personality: Bill Nye the Science Guy.

But that was where hardcore climate change denial landed Palin on Thursday: a wood-panelled committee room in Congress where she disputed the credentials of a hugely popular science educator who has designed devices for Nasa and been awarded several honorary degrees.