ITV defends allowing Yvette Cooper to be interviewed by husband Ed Balls

ITV has supported the decision to have the home secretary interviewed by her husband on Good Morning Britain, saying that the interview was fair, unbiased, and impartial.

Yvette Cooper was a guest on the morning talk show on Monday to support the government's actions during the ongoing riots. Ed Balls, a previous member of the Labour cabinet and current co-host, questioned her about the government's response.

Balls inquired with his spouse: "I need to know, because we’ve discussed this multiple times recently – just like many people watching at home following the tragic incidents in Southport – there are certain people on social media actively encouraging not just protests but physical harm."

"They have been spreading hate speech and lies. This is happening on various social media sites. What actions can social media companies, law enforcement, and government authorities take to prevent this behavior? This has been going on for a week."

Cooper agreed with Ed, saying that there are clearly illegal activities happening on the internet. Social media has greatly boosted the presence of far-right extremist groups and contributed to the violence we see. Illegal actions that occur in the physical world are also illegal in the online space.

Cooper did a morning media tour where she spoke on various TV channels, including Good Morning Britain where she was interviewed by Kate Garraway, who is co-host of the show with Balls.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about politicians hosting TV shows that discuss important topics in the news. This became a big deal when GB News and TalkTV, which is no longer around, decided to pay some Conservative politicians to host their own programs.

A representative from Good Morning Britain said: "After a weekend of riots and turmoil across the country, GMB had various interviews and discussions about this national crisis on today's show. Guests included James Cleverly, shadow home secretary, and Yvette Cooper, home secretary. We believe that these interviews were fair, balanced, and unbiased."

Ofcom, the organization that oversees the media, recently investigated politicians as hosts of current affairs shows. They found that the British people generally feel uneasy about this, but there is no widespread agreement on banning it completely.

ITV has stated that the situation is not the same as GB News hiring Nigel Farage, Richard Tice and Lee Anderson because they are currently serving politicians. Meanwhile, Balls lost his position in the 2015 general election and has since transitioned to a career in media, following a short time on Strictly Come Dancing.

In Monday's show, Balls spoke out against a fellow guest, Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who was advocating for his wife's government to label the rioters as "Islamophobic."

Balls kept interrupting the conversation to insist that Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper, and Rishi Sunak had all clearly labeled the riots as "racist" during the weekend.

Sultana expressed that far-right demonstrators are instructing individuals like her to return to their home country. She also mentioned that the Labour party has played a part in shaping the current societal atmosphere over the past few years. She pointed out that there is a clear connection between the language used by politicians and the language used by the general public.

She mentioned the mugs from the 2015 general election promising to tighten immigration policies and a piece written by Balls for the Guardian during his 2010 leadership bid, where he argued that the UK had welcomed too many immigrants from eastern Europe.

Balls exclaimed, "I was completely correct in that post!"