ED Balls has been accused of bias after he interviewed his wife Yvette Cooper on Monday’s Good Morning Britain programme.
The former shadow chancellor has already faced criticism on Monday morning for his “condescending” interview with Zarah Sultana on far-right violence in England and Northern Ireland over the weekend.
However, Good Morning Britain is also facing questions over why he was allowed to interview the Home Secretary, his wife, on the same show.
🚨 NEW: ITV's Good Morning Britain has been accused of bias as former Labour Minister Ed Balls interviewed his wife, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier today pic.twitter.com/PtBad3T7Fq
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He asked Cooper specifically about what social media companies should do to prevent the spread of misinformation and a follow-up question on claims made by people such as Richard Tice that police have been tougher in their response to far-right riots compared with demonstrations on Gaza.
Starmer has already warned social media “carries responsibility” over tackling misinformation in the wake of the violent riots.
Downing Street was previously forced to issue a statement on “unhelpful” speculation about a knife attack in Southport which led to the death of three young girls.
Responding to Balls, Cooper said: “Well you’re right Ed that we have seen these… things that are appearing online that are clearly criminal.
“Social media has put rocket boosters under the far-right extremist organisation and also some of the violence that we have seen, organising some of the violence.
“Things that are criminal offline are also criminal online. So we also expect the police to be pursuing criminality in legal material that is online and to make sure they also face the full force of the law.”
She further added that social media companies have to take “much greater responsibility” for what happens on their platforms.
During his interview with Sultana on the programme, Balls also defended his wife when the MP was discussing why she felt it was important to describe the riots as “Islamophobic”.
He pointed out that Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper (above) had condemned the attacks.
A number of people took to social media to question why Balls had been allowed to interview his own wife, with Niall Christie – a Green candidate in the 2024 General Election – writing: “Ed Balls allowed to defend his wife, the Home Secretary, under the guise of journalistic integrity is utterly disgraceful while right-wing media figures chuckle on gleefully.”
Elsewhere, Matthew Mulligan, a reporter with NBC News asking if it was “really appropriate” for Balls to be presenting news on the subject when his wife is involved in the Government’s response.
Dr Rakib Ehsan meanwhile added: “Nothing quite exposes the ridiculousness of the mainstream-media ecosystem than former Labour MP Ed Balls ‘interviewing’ his wife – Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper – on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about the widespread rioting in England.
“A totally absurd state of affairs.”
Other users were also left surprised by the decision, with one describing it as “unbelievable” while others contrasted how Balls had constantly interrupted Sultana compared to letting Cooper speak.
The criticism was widespread, with another Twitter/X user saying it was “insane” and somebody else commenting that it was “beyond belief”.
The National has approached ITV for further comment.
