An interview between Zia Yusuf and Good Morning Britain presenters Ed Balls and Susanna Reid has sparked an almighty debate following Wednesday's show.
In light of the news that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is considering rolling out electronic ID cards for everyone to help stop UK boat migrants, Mr Balls and Ms Reid were keen to hear what Nigel Farage's Reform UK thought of the measures.
Representing the party, Mr Yusuf appeared dismissive of the measures, suggesting they will "impact and impede the lives of law-abiding citizens" while doing "nothing to address the issue of these people who do not want to be found".
But the interview didn't focus solely on digital ID cards, with both Ms Reid and Mr Balls probing Mr Yusuf on Reform UK's proposals to curb the number of migrants entering the country.
Ms Reid took the reins of the interview from the top, and while she branded Mr Yusuf's plans to identify when someone has purposefully thrown away their identification documents as "impractical", she did give Reform's DOGE head the chance to explain his point.
"How on earth do you establish who the 600,000 are that you’re going to deport over the course of a parliament?" Ms Reid put to Mr Yusuf. "We’ve seen over in the States, and I know that you sort of compare this policy to Trump, people get caught up in it.
"We know that governments mistake who’s here legally and illegally. We’ve seen this in the Windrush scandal. So, without a digital ID and without people having passports, how do you establish who the 600,000 illegal immigrants are?"
Mr Yusuf replied: "Well, firstly, I’m not sure who you’re speaking to. We’ve moved up around three to four points in the polls that have come out since we announced Operation Restoring Justice. So there are a lot of people who are very pleased to see [us] as a party who are interested in restoring the social contract again.
ITV GMB: Ed Balls and Zia Yusuf clashed on Wednesday's show
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"We cannot have so many people in this country illegally taking from the system, which British taxpayers... in part pay taxes to put some of these people up in hotels and get benefits. It’s unsustainable. So something has to be done.
"In terms of how we identify those people, well, let’s do it in a way that doesn’t impede the lives of law-abiding citizens. Again, we’re getting-" Mr Yusuf continued as Ms Reid interjected: "How?"
Mr Yusuf answered: "We need a few different things. Number one, we need to change the legislation. One of the massive problems we have at the moment is that whenever deportations are attempted, the deportations are stopped; they are frustrated by judges. Because of the European Court of Human Rights, we’re still not at a stage where Labour is willing to leave that.
"But even that will not be enough. We then need to disapply it on these international treaties, at least on a temporary basis in the UK. That would include, for example, the 1951 Refugee Convention.
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ITV GMB: Ed Balls and Susanna Reid grilled Reform's Zia Yusuf
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"And then what we also say, Susanna, is that anyone who came to the country illegally will never be granted asylum. End of story. That is how you deal with this issue. And then you can start a large-scale operational program to ensure that those deportations happen."
The conversation soon moved on, but it's safe to say that when Mr Balls took over the line of questioning, the tone shifted.
Turning his attention to Reform UK's proposed deportation sites, Mr Balls quizzed: "The deportation sites — I mean, you’re gonna have to have a huge number of big sites, to about 24,000 a month, to be held.
"Have you identified yet, through your DOGE work, have you identified your first site where you’d be able to build one of these camps?"
ITV GMB: Susanna Reid also quizzed Zia Yusuf on Reform UK's policies
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"So, we’ve got a long list and a short list-" Mr Yusuf began to explain before Mr Balls sneered: "But just give us one name."
"Here’s the reason we won’t give names-" Mr Yusuf replied, prompting Mr Balls to condescendingly cut in: "Oh, you won't!"
Mr Yusuf explained: "If we give the names now, prior to the manifesto, ahead of the next general election, I’ll tell you what will happen... The government will sell them off and they’ll become solar farms, that’s what will happen."
"So you will have names of the camps in that manifesto?" Mr Balls pushed, before nodding along sarcastically as Mr Yusuf provided his retort.
ITV GMB: Zia Yusuf stood firm against Ed Balls and Susanna Reid's questions
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Mr Yusuf told the GMB hosts: "We have already been clear, Ed. We’ve already been clear about where we will put these. They will be in remote locations, and it will be modular. And you know what’s most important here? They will be detained.
"One of the reasons there’s so much understandable concern about this, and the protests, which we sympathise with, from a lot of worried mums in particular, is because these people, about whom we know nothing, and who come from the kind of cultures that you have just articulated, these are the people who are inside these communities, against the community’s wishes, they are able to roam free.
"Under a Reform government, that will not be the case. They will be detained, and they will be deported."
Following the interview and after the show's official X account posted clips of the debate online, it's safe to say the overriding feedback was that many felt Mr Balls, who is married to the current Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, wasn't the best candidate to oversee the discussion.
ITV GMB: Zia Yusuf defended Reform UK's plans to curb illegal migration
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Some branded his questioning of Mr Yusuf "aggressive", "biased", and as "going from bad to worse".
On X, one viewer fumed: "@Edballs, what a contrast between your questioning techniques posed to both @ZiaYusufUK and @wesstreeting. You pressured @ZiaYusufUK for an answer yet laid off @wesstreeting. I wonder why. #impartiality."
"Pity Ed wasn't allowed to question his wife @YvetteCooperMP I am sure he would have really liked to have questioned her this strongly........or would he?" a second pondered before a third echoed: "Why does Ed Balls always interview Reform. He is just acting on his wife's behalf, the Home Secretary."
Elsewhere, a fourth said: "How aggressive Ed got here. Well done, Zia, dealt with (him) well. Shame he didn't show the same aggressiveness when asking Wes Streeting about ID cards to deter boat crossings."
Nigel Farage's Reform UK has pledged to carry out mass deportations
| GETTY"Ed's wife never gets such a grilling when she's on, funny that... The look on Ed's face... meant to be unbiased," another claimed, before a sixth pleaded: "You have got to get rid of Eddy, he’s going from bad to worse."
Even those fond of Mr Balls were conflicted, with one viewer weighing: "I like @edballs. I think he is a good presenter, but he is so sneering at any party if they are not Labour. Labour are drowning in the polls and Reform are surging. He needs to listen to his viewers. Not pander to Reform but question fairly without showing his bias."
However, others argued Mr Balls wasn't acting in a biased manner at all and was merely holding Mr Yusuf to account. "How is this bias? He comes across like he's more right-wing if anything," one supporter hit back.
"Is it because he asked Deform a question you didn't like? Please, he was soft as s*** on Zia #gmb #goodmorningbritain." (sic)