{"id":137334,"date":"2024-09-18T16:41:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T16:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/itv-boss-defends-letting-ed-balls-interview-wife-yvette-cooper-but-says-it-wont-happen-again\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T16:41:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T16:41:00","slug":"itv-boss-defends-letting-ed-balls-interview-wife-yvette-cooper-but-says-it-wont-happen-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/itv-boss-defends-letting-ed-balls-interview-wife-yvette-cooper-but-says-it-wont-happen-again\/","title":{"rendered":"ITV boss defends letting Ed Balls interview wife Yvette Cooper &#8211; but says it won&#8217;t happen again"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/768x432\/skynews-yvette-cooper_6646610.jpg?20240803181611&amp;fit=768,432&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"ITV boss defends letting Ed Balls interview wife Yvette Cooper &#8211; but says it won&#8217;t happen again\" title=\"ITV boss defends letting Ed Balls interview wife Yvette Cooper &#8211; but says it won&#8217;t happen again\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component-name=\"ui-article-body\" data-highlight-intro=\"true\">\n<p>ITV&#8217;s chief executive has defended allowing Ed Balls to interview his wife, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, but said it will not happen again.<\/p>\n<p>Dame Carolyn McCall said the broadcaster got &#8220;very short notice&#8221; that the senior politician would be coming on Good Morning Britain on the day her spouse grilled her about rioting across the UK.<\/p>\n<p>She said the interview on 5 August, which <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/thousands-of-complaints-after-yvette-cooper-interviewed-by-husband-ed-balls-on-gmb-13192713\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attracted thousands of complaints<\/a><\/strong>, was &#8220;fair and impartial&#8221; but the set up would not be repeated.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/politics-live-labour-nhs-keir-starmer-sunak-tory-leadership-budget-sky-news-latest-12593360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Politics Live: Minister dismisses concerns over free Taylor Swift tickets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the Royal Television Society (RTS) London Conference, the ITV boss said: &#8220;It was a very, very tricky morning, there was a national emergency almost being called, and so we got very short notice that the home secretary was coming on the show.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No one has picked up on the fact that Ofcom are not pursuing these complaints, because they believe it&#8217;s fair, balanced and impartial.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So would we do it again? No. Was it impartial, fair and balanced? And did they behave professionally? Yes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ofcom ruled on Tuesday that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/ofcom-will-not-investigate-after-yvette-cooper-interviewed-by-husband-ed-balls-on-itvs-good-morning-britain-13216742\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it would not be investigating<\/a><\/strong> more than 8,000 complaints about Mr Balls questioning Ms Cooper, with some complaints also relating to an exchange with Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video callfn\" data-account-id=\"6058004172001\" data-amp-iframe-embed=\"\" data-asset-id=\"173d8dfd-a84e-4606-99dd-609187f8e55e\" data-asset-path=\"\" data-asset-version=\"\" data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"\" data-caption=\"Last month: Those behind 'violent thuggery' will 'pay the price'\" data-clip-type=\"\" data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-competition=\"\" data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_173d8dfd-a84e-4606-99dd-609187f8e55e\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options=\"\" data-originator-id=\"51\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-news-gb\" data-package-name=\"\" data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"RC9PQUaJ6\" data-playsinline=\"\" data-sensitive=\"false\" data-sdc-id=\"6646620\" data-sdc-video-id=\"173d8dfd-a84e-4606-99dd-609187f8e55e\" data-sport-category=\"\" data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids=\"\" data-video-id=\"ref:173d8dfd-a84e-4606-99dd-609187f8e55e\" data-video-type=\"\" data-auto-pause-on-not-visible=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position=\"middle-third\" data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip=\"true\" data-show-live-stream-scrubber=\"true\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__inner\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__content\" data-role=\"bridge-controller\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% \/ ());\">\n<p class=\"sdc-site-video__accessibility-message\" data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>              <span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-role=\"poster\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster\"><\/p>\n<p>              <span class=\"sdc-site-video__loader\"\/><br \/>\n                <span class=\"sdc-site-video__time\">0:46<\/span><br \/>\n              <\/span><\/p>\n<p>              <video id=\"id_173d8dfd-a84e-4606-99dd-609187f8e55e\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id=\"\" class=\"video-js sdc-site-video__tag\" controls=\"\" playsinline=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sdc-site-video__caption ui-media-caption\">\n<p>              <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-role=\"caption-text\">Last month: Those behind &#8216;violent thuggery&#8217; will &#8216;pay the price&#8217;<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The media regulator said the nature of the married couple&#8217;s relationship was made clear twice, a range of views about Labour&#8217;s handling of the riots were included, and the vast majority of the interview was conducted by co-presenter <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/topic\/kate-garraway-8670\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kate Garraway<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>However, while it will not be pursuing the matter further, Ofcom said it issued guidance &#8220;warning ITV to take particular care over the compliance of such interviews in future&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/mps-could-face-crack-down-on-paid-media-appearances-under-new-rules-13213270\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>MPs could face crackdown on paid media appearances<\/strong><\/a><br \/><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\">Five episodes of GB News programmes presented by Tory MPs found to have broken Ofcom rules<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mr Balls, a former Labour minister, is now a regular GMB presenter.<\/p>\n<p>He 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-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>     <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>Critics said it was &#8220;baffling&#8221; he was allowed to interview his spouse, given the requirement for broadcasters to be impartial in their reporting.<\/p>\n<p>Before the interview, the former shadow chancellor said he had &#8220;genuine questions&#8221; for Ms Cooper, as he has &#8220;rarely seen her at all in the last week&#8221; because of the disorder on the streets.<\/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\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"768x432\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/768x432\/skynews-yvette-cooper-ed-balls_6650246.jpg?20240807235030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/384x216\/skynews-yvette-cooper-ed-balls_6650246.jpg?20240807235030 380w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/768x432\/skynews-yvette-cooper-ed-balls_6650246.jpg?20240807235030 760w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/1600x900\/skynews-yvette-cooper-ed-balls_6650246.jpg?20240807235030 1024w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/2048x1152\/skynews-yvette-cooper-ed-balls_6650246.jpg?20240807235030 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls have been married for 25 years\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Pic: Reuters<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ofcom also said it would not be pursuing complaints about a separate interview on the same show with Ms Sultana, who previously sat as a Labour MP before she had the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/labour-suspend-seven-mps-who-rebelled-over-two-child-benefit-cap-13183879\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whip suspended in July<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>She was interrupted several times while discussing why the riots should have been called Islamophobic specifically, rather than just racist.<\/p>\n<p>Ofcom said: &#8220;In our view, Ms Sultana was given ample opportunity to express her views and respond to the questions put to her, while we consider the robust line of questioning would be consistent with regular viewers&#8217; expectations of interviews with political figures on this programme.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/itv-boss-defends-letting-ed-balls-interview-wife-yvette-cooper-but-says-it-wont-happen-again-13217193\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ITV&#8217;s chief executive has defended allowing Ed Balls to interview his wife, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, but said it will not happen again. Dame Carolyn McCall said the broadcaster got &#8220;very short notice&#8221; that the senior politician would be coming on Good Morning Britain on the day her spouse grilled her about rioting across the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137335,"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-yvette-cooper_6646610.jpg?20240803181611","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[19670,791,2006,2449,2837,6040,62838,18048,942,2829,31353],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137334"}],"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=137334"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137336,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137334\/revisions\/137336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}