{"id":110049,"date":"2024-08-07T22:30:16","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T22:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/07\/thousands-of-complaints-after-yvette-cooper-interviewed-by-husband-ed-balls-on-gmb\/"},"modified":"2024-08-07T22:30:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T22:30:16","slug":"thousands-of-complaints-after-yvette-cooper-interviewed-by-husband-ed-balls-on-gmb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/07\/thousands-of-complaints-after-yvette-cooper-interviewed-by-husband-ed-balls-on-gmb\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of complaints after Yvette Cooper interviewed by husband Ed Balls on GMB"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/768x432\/skynews-ed-balls-yvette-cooper_6650249.jpg?20240807205303&amp;fit=768,432&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Thousands of complaints after Yvette Cooper interviewed by husband Ed Balls on GMB\" title=\"Thousands of complaints after Yvette Cooper interviewed by husband Ed Balls on GMB\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component-name=\"ui-article-body\" data-highlight-intro=\"true\">\n<p>Media regulator Ofcom has received more than 8,000 complaints after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was interviewed by her husband Ed Balls live on TV.<\/p>\n<p>Balls, a former Labour cabinet minister and regular presenter on ITV&#8217;s Good Morning Britain, questioned his wife about the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/uk-riots-latest-far-right-southport-live-13186819\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">riots gripping the UK<\/a><\/strong> on Monday&#8217;s edition of the programme.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/keir-starmer-riots-parliament-conservative-leadership-latest-live-12593360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Politics Live: Jenrick accused of &#8216;stirring up&#8217; problems seen in riots<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/topic\/ofcom-6155\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Ofcom<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>said there were 8,201 complaints related to the segment. Some were about Mr Balls&#8217;s interview with Ms Cooper and others were about an exchange with Labour MP Zarah Sultana.<\/p>\n<p>An Ofcom spokesperson said: &#8220;We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The issue of politicians interviewing other politicians<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/five-episodes-of-gb-news-programmes-presented-by-tory-mps-found-to-have-broken-ofcom-rules-13097529\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> has been controversial in recent years<\/a><\/strong>, after GB News allowed a number of Conservative MPs to interview their colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Balls in no longer a politician, having pursued a media career and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/keir-starmer-riots-parliament-conservative-leadership-latest-live-12593360\">appeared on Strictly Come Dancing<\/a><\/strong> since losing his seat in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>However, there was widespread criticism of the interview on social media, with Deadline reporter Jake Kanter saying it was &#8220;baffling it was allowed to happen&#8221; given the legal obligation on broadcasters to be impartial in their reporting.<\/p>\n<p>Balls and Ms Cooper have been married for more than 25 years and have three children together.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Ed Balls lost his seat in 2015. Pic: Reuters<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Before the interview the former shadow chancellor said he had &#8220;genuine questions&#8221; for his other half, as he has &#8220;rarely seen her at all in the last week&#8221; because of the disorder on the streets.<\/p>\n<p>While questioning was mostly led by GMB host Kate Garraway, Balls grilled his wife on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/met-police-chief-sir-mark-rowley-says-two-tier-policing-claims-complete-nonsense-and-putting-officers-at-risk-13192393\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accusations of &#8220;two-tier policing&#8221; <\/a><\/strong>&#8211; a phrase used to describe the impression that some protests and demonstrations are dealt with more harshly than others<\/p>\n<p>He asked if there had been a &#8220;softer and more cautious&#8221; approach when policing protests against the war in Gaza compared with a &#8220;tougher&#8221; approach to the violent unrest of the past week.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:<\/strong><br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/keir-starmer-riots-parliament-conservative-leadership-latest-live-12593360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UK riots: What does &#8216;two-tier&#8217; policing mean &#8211; and does it exist?<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/uk-riots-robert-jenrick-unwise-and-insensitive-over-allahu-akbar-comment-tory-leadership-rival-says-13192694\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Jenrick &#8216;unwise and insensitive&#8217; over Allahu Akbar comment<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-strapline sdc-article-strapline--default-layout\" data-component-name=\"sdc-article-strapline\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-strapline__link\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-strapline__image-wrap\">\n                <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/03\/320x180\/skynews-gfxwhatsapppromo-gfxwhatsapp_6490206.png 320w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/03\/640x380\/skynews-gfxwhatsapppromo-gfxwhatsapp_6490206.png 640w\" media=\"(max-width: 480px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/03\/256x256\/skynews-gfxwhatsapppromo-gfxwhatsapp_6490206.png 256w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/03\/512x512\/skynews-gfxwhatsapppromo-gfxwhatsapp_6490206.png 512w\" media=\"(min-width: 481px)\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/03\/512x512\/skynews-gfxwhatsapppromo-gfxwhatsapp_6490206.png\" alt=\"Follow Sky News on WhatsApp\" class=\"sdc-article-strapline__image\"\/><br \/>\n                <\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-strapline__body\">\n                <span class=\"sdc-article-strapline__title\">Follow Sky News on WhatsApp<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"sdc-article-strapline__text\">Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News<\/p>\n<p>                <a href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Va868Fv8vd1UsF99tP1u\" class=\"sdc-article-strapline__button\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tap here<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ms Cooper said that police have to operate &#8220;without fear or favour, whatever the kinds of crimes it is that they face&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The episode also attracted criticism for the way Balls and Garraway interviewed Ms Sultana after she called for political leaders to condemn the unrest as &#8220;Islamophobic&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Balls interjected to say Ms Cooper, Tory leader Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had all criticised the riots as &#8220;racist&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-tweet\" data-component-name=\"sdc-article-tweet\" data-consent=\"pending\" data-vendor-name=\"twitter\">\n<section aria-label=\"Consent required\" class=\"ui-consent-roadblock\" data-component-name=\"ui-consent-roadblock\" data-aspect-ratio=\"\" style=\"--width: 7; --height:4;\">\n<div class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body\">\n        <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__title\">X<\/span><br \/>\n            <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__description\" data-show-on-fallback=\"false\"><br \/>\n                This content is provided by <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__vendor-title\">X<\/span>, which may be using cookies and other technologies.<br \/>\n                To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.<br \/>\n                You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__vendor-title\">X<\/span> cookies or to allow those cookies just once.<br \/>\n                You can change your settings at any time via the <a href=\"#privacy-options\">Privacy Options<\/a>.<br \/>\n            <\/span><br \/>\n            <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__description\" data-show-on-fallback=\"true\"><br \/>\n                Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__vendor-title\">X<\/span> cookies.<br \/>\n                To view this content you can use the button below to allow <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__vendor-title\">X<\/span> cookies for this session only.<br \/>\n            <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__link-group\">\n                <a href=\"#\" class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__link ui-consent-roadblock-permanently\" data-single-click-vendor-name=\"twitter\" data-show-on-fallback=\"false\">Enable Cookies<\/a><br \/>\n                <a href=\"#\" class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__link ui-consent-roadblock-once\" data-single-click-vendor-name=\"twitter\">Allow Cookies Once<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>He continued to interrupt her as she replied to Garraway&#8217;s question about why she wanted politicians to call the riots Islamophobic specifically.<\/p>\n<p>It led to a heated clash with Ms Sultana saying: &#8220;I&#8217;m going to wait for Kate to finish her question if that&#8217;s alright&#8221; and Balls hitting back: &#8220;If you want to answer the questions, you can but you don&#8217;t have to.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ms Sultana later shared a clip of the exchange on X saying: &#8220;The sneering contempt of &#8216;journalists&#8217; will never stop me from calling out racism and Islamophobic hate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Broadcaster Narinder Kaur, who regularly appears as a panellist on the ITV show, was also critical of the interview, writing on X: &#8220;This is unacceptable &amp; deeply uncomfortable viewing. An entire white panel questioning a brown woman like a suspect. Ed Balls and Kate have left their homes this morning with no fear. Zarah and every other brown\/black person left knowing they are a target.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>     <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/download-app\" target=\"blank\" data-tracking-label=\"ui-app-promo-download-link\" class=\"ui-app-promo sdc-article-widget\" data-type=\"\" data-component-name=\"ui-app-promo\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Following Monday&#8217;s episode, an ITV spokesperson told media outlets GMB &#8220;featured a range of interviews and discussion&#8221; on the issue and that ITV is &#8220;satisfied&#8221; the interviews &#8220;were balanced, fair and duly impartial&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Sky News has contacted ITV for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/thousands-of-complaints-after-yvette-cooper-interviewed-by-husband-ed-balls-on-gmb-13192713\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Media regulator Ofcom has received more than 8,000 complaints after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was interviewed by her husband Ed Balls live on TV. Balls, a former Labour cabinet minister and regular presenter on ITV&#8217;s Good Morning Britain, questioned his wife about the riots gripping the UK on Monday&#8217;s edition of the programme. Politics Live: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/768x432\/skynews-ed-balls-yvette-cooper_6650249.jpg?20240807205303","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[19670,18450,2006,9777,3124,13069,57,31353],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110049"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110049"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110051,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110049\/revisions\/110051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}