ITV's Good Morning Britain has been slammed by furious viewers for its reporting of the Southport riots and the supposed role Nigel Farage has been accused of playing in inciting the violent scenes.
Following the horrific deaths of three young girls after a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-inspired dance class in Southport, a 17-year-old has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
The deaths prompted scenes of violence between protestors and police in Southport on Tuesday evening while an angered mob also descended on Downing Street in London on Wednesday where clashes with police followed.
Farage has come under fire from his critics - including Angela Rayner and the husband of late MP Jo Cox - for his response to the murders in which he posted a video to X on Tuesday and said there "were one or two questions" about the tragedy, namely whether or not the 17-year-old was being monitored by authorities amid conflicting reports.
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Secondly, Farage pondered whether or not "the truth is being withheld" in regards to the knife attacker before he admitted he "didn't know" but felt they were "legitimate questions" to ask.
On Thursday's GMB, Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh discussed the latest developments in the case of the Southport stabbings and the subsequent riots, and it didn't take long for Farage's name to be drawn into the conversation.
ITV GMB: Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh took aim at Farage after he'd been accused of inciting the riots in Southport and London
ITV
Guest Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, a former Labour adviser, was the first to bring Farage up as she said: "You had this vigil, you had this moment of extreme pain for these families, and it's been weaponised by people just to have this free-for-all...
"Of course, when there is a terrible tragedy like this, it is human nature to ask questions and it's human nature to want to express your anger, your frustrations... but let's not kid ourselves, we have got large groups of men who are thugs who want to use this for their own agenda.
"You have people putting out misinformation for their own political agenda, they don't want to bring peace or solace or comfort to the family... they want a ruck, they want a fight, they want a helter-skelter race war in this country and there are people in senior positions in politics who should know better -" she continued before Singh cut her off to ask who she was referring to.
"I'm talking about Nigel Farage and the comment he has made," Hazarika confirmed before going on to describe those on the streets demonstrating as "off-their-heads thugs".
Protestors clashed with police in London on Wednesday as part of the 'Enough is Enough' march
PA
Balls then chipped in to introduce fellow guest Salma Shah to the discussion, claiming the motivations of the protestors was "to link a terrible murder in Southport to migration - even though this person was born in Cardiff"
When asked by Balls if she felt Farage and his supporters had "manipulated" the tragedy, Shah replied: "I think we have a real of this escalating precisely because of what Ayesha said, a lot of irresponsibility with senior leaders and this disinformation."
Shah then called for as much transparency from authorities as possible to combat rumours before Singh asked her directly about Farage's comments and his questioning of whether the "truth" was being "withheld".
"There is something there that makes very many people in politics and in the police very uncomfortable. He's skating on a very thin line between raising suggestions of something is going on that we're not being told but for ill intent," Singh said of Farage.
Shah agreed: "It also creates an 'us' and 'them' between Farage and his supporters and the state and the establishment... this really plays into the hands of those who are trying to exploit that."
Balls then informed viewers Farage made the decision not to appear on GMB on Thursday morning, something he called "frustrating".
Continuing to target the Reform UK leader, he fumed: "The point is if you are an elected politician and you say things and then it causes concern, the right thing to do is then to come on and talk about it and answer questions.
"When he says, 'There are reasons to be concerned about law and order in the streets', in the context of those mobs... he needs to come and explain to us whether or not he thinks that this is a legitimate way to protest or whether he condemns the protestors and says what they are doing is wrong and that the misinformation is wrong.
My response to the attack in Southport. pic.twitter.com/CCyjKpC7aQ
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 30, 2024
"But if you raise these questions and not come on and answer those questions as an elected parliamentarian... Let's be honest, they were chanting Tommy Robinson, if Nigel Farage was in Downing Street last night, what would they have been chanting? And he needs to deal with that."
Farage didn't have a chance to respond to the GMB panel's claims on Thursday but did address his comments head-on during Wednesday's episode of his talk show on GB News.
He explained afterward: "I was asking some gentle questions that I thought were fair and reasonable. At the same time, the internet was awash with all sorts of theories, all of which proved to be unfounded. That's what led to the riots last night. That's what led to people being outside that Mosque in Southport. Sometimes just tell the public the truth and you might actually stop riots from happening."
With Farage absent from the ITV show and with Singh and Balls - who happens to be married to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper - unanimously condemning his remarks, social media was awash with complaints about the show's approach.
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Nigel Farage addressed his comments on the Southport stabbing on Wednesday's Farage
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On X, one fan fumed at the coverage: "All @Nigel_Farage did was ask a question yet he’s been criticised for the last 5 minutes by a former labour adviser, maybe you should spend more time criticising the 17 year old that kill and attacked children for no reason #gmb."
"Incredible how @gmb will take any opportunity to blame @Nigel_Farage for literally anything bad that happens. Clutching at straws with this one,' a second hit out.
"Nigel Farage getting more of a kicking than a child killer or Huw Edwards. #GMB," a third pointed out before a fourth blasted: "@GMB disgraceful yet again...diverting much of the programme to slag off... nigel farage. Is this what we can expect from you for the next 5 years..to bring him down for NO reason..like you did with boris. BALLS should be banned as cooper's hubby."
Another raged: "Let’s just focus on Trump and Farage basing with no mention how badly the Home Secretary has handled the two recent riots, the murder of children on the streets, the stabbing of a soldier, the attack on police officers at an airport. Complete biased left wing vehicle."
And a sixth defended Farage's decision to swerve an interview: "@gmb why on earth would Nigel Farage come on your show to be spoken over and not given a chance to speak. I have watched this programme for many years but it has lost its way. The presenters are clearly politically biased and it’s embarrassing!"
However, there was some defence for Balls and Singh's approach to the debate on Thursday morning, with one person wading into the debate to say: "Thank you @GMB for calling out Nigel Farage this morning. @edballs and @ayeshahazarika brilliantly outlining what he is doing." (sic)
