Good Morning Britain viewers have slammed Ed Balls and Kate Garraway for their “terrible” interview on Wednesday morning.
The ITV presenting duo, both 57, interviewed Conservative MP Robert Jenrick about the recent unrest taking place across the country.
Angry far-right mobs have wreaked havoc, looting shops, setting hotels on fire and attacking police officers in some of the worst unrest in more than a decade.
Hundreds of people have been arrested so far, with some already appearing in court on the raft of charges, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has described the riots as “far-right thuggery”, called for a COBRA emergency on Tuesday.
GMB invited Jenrick onto the show to discuss whether the Conservative government had anything to do with the riots, but as the discussion progressed, audiences at home became frustrated as the hosts repeatedly interrupted their guest.
Good Morning Britain viewers have slammed Ed Balls and Kate Garraway for their “terrible” Wednesday morning interview
The ITV presenting duo, both 57, interviewed Conservative MP Robert Jenrick (pictured) about the recent unrest taking place across the country.
One viewer took to social media platform X to express his anger: “It’s a shame she wasn’t allowed to speak.”
‘I personally thought this was a terrible interview, Ed Balls and Kate didn’t give the man time to respond, and the smug look on Ed Balls’ face when they showed him the video of him in parliament’;
“They didn’t want to listen to his answers, they interrupted him again and again. Rubbish reports!”
“Kate and Ed are horrible. I can’t stand them anymore so bye @gmb.”
This comes after ITV defended allowing Ed Balls to interview his wife Yvette Cooper on Good Morning Britain.
The broadcaster has come under fire after the former Labour cabinet minister, who is now a regular presenter on the ITV breakfast show, grilled his own wife during Monday’s episode in her role as home secretary.
A GMB spokesperson has now said: ‘Following a weekend of unrest and national unrest, GMB featured a series of interviews and debates about this national emergency on today’s programme, including with James Cleverly, Shadow Home Secretary, and Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary.
“We are satisfied that these interviews were balanced, fair and appropriately impartial.”
Viewers have branded GMB “extremely disgraceful” after Ed interviewed his wife Yvette Cooper in a “massive conflict of interest”.
GMB brought Jenrick on the show to discuss whether the Conservative government had a role to play in the riot.
As the discussion progressed, viewers at home became frustrated as they noticed the hosts repeatedly interrupting their guests.
One viewer was furious on social media platform X: “It’s a shame they didn’t allow him to speak.”
Ed, 57, interviewed Home Secretary Yvette, 55, alongside Kate Garraway, 57, about the unrest across the UK and asked what the police, government and social media sites should be doing.
Ed and Kate questioned Yvette about the government’s refusal to label the riots as “Islamophobic” as she previously raised on the Zarah Sultana show.
Yvette began: ‘What we have seen on the streets of some cities and towns over the weekend is, frankly, criminal violence and thuggery.
“That’s what it is, first and foremost, and that’s why it needs the full weight of the law behind it.”
He added: “We have certainly seen some targeted attacks on mosques, and that clearly reflects Islamophobia.”
Ed said: ‘Can I ask, because we’ve talked about this a number of times over the last few days, as many of our viewers will have done at home since those terrible murders in Southport, there have been identifiable individuals on social media who have been inciting not just riots but violence.
‘They have been using racist language and falsehoods. This is happening on social media platforms.
“What should social media companies, the police and the government do to stop this from happening? This has been going on for a week.”
She replied: “Well, you’re right, Ed. We’ve seen things appear online that are clearly criminal.
This comes after ITV defended allowing Ed Balls to interview his wife Yvette Cooper on Good Morning Britain.
The broadcaster has come under fire after the former Labour cabinet minister, who is now a regular presenter on the ITV breakfast show, grilled his own wife during Monday’s episode in her role as home secretary.
Ed and Yvette have been married since 1998 and share three children: Joe Balls, Mady Balls and Ellie Cooper.
“Social media has put rockets in the centre of far-right extremist organisations and has also contributed to some of the violence we have witnessed. What is criminal offline is also criminal online.”
Ofcom has recently looked into the issue of politicians presenting current affairs programmes following a debate over Nigel Farage’s appearances on GB News during the general election campaign.
The regulator has ruled that while the British public feels “instinctively uncomfortable” with the practice, there was no “clear consensus for an outright ban”.
Largely ignoring the content of the interview, GMB viewers took issue with the decision to put Ed in such a compromising position on X, formerly Twitter.
They wrote: ‘Does @GMB realise how ridiculous it seems to keep inviting @edballs as a presenter whilst defending the actions of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, his wife?’
‘Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is asked why the government has not used the term ‘Islamophobic’. In her response, Cooper (finally) uses the word. As for the husband interviewing his wife, how does the #GMB think this is sustainable?’
“Ed, who just treated @zarahsultana with contempt for suggesting the mainstream media plays a role in fomenting hate, is about to interview his wife in a conflict of interest obvious even to a five-year-old viewer. Stick with Kerry Katona and Strictly #Gmb.”
‘Interesting that Ed Balls doesn’t interrupt his wife when he interviews her, but with other guests he does it every 5 minutes #gmb #goodmorningbritain’
‘Ed Balls is going to interview his wife? How can @GMB be impartial and NOT create a huge conflict of interest? It’s extremely disgraceful… and he hasn’t spoken to the Home Secretary about her job and the situation… really? (sic)’
Chaos broke out again on the streets of Britain in the wake of the Southport murders, as hundreds of people took to the streets in Birmingham and Plymouth (pictured)
Violence broke out again in Belfast last night amid ongoing unrest across the UK.
‘Is it really appropriate for Ed Balls to present news coverage directly related to the response to the protests by his wife and the government she is part of?’
“I’m sorry, this is crazy! You can’t have Ed Balls on a show “interviewing” his own wife. What a stupid editorial decision! I can’t believe Yvette Cooper agreed to this!”
“Why is Yvette Cooper’s husband (Ed Balls) allowed to defend her poor handling of the race riots? I’m not sure that’s allowed.”
“I don’t think Ed Balls should be interviewing Yvette Cooper on GMB. They’re a married couple. It’s ridiculous.”
“Surely good practice would be for Ed Balls not to appear on a programme that features his wife, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Sort it out, @gmb!”
Ed and Yvette have been married since 1998 and share three children: Joe Balls, Mady Balls and Ellie Cooper.