ITV GMB outrage as Robert Jenrick forced to slap away Ed Balls' 'desperate' Nigel Farage remark: 'This is a witch hunt!'

And there appeared to be plenty of material at the ITV hosts' disposal, such as Mr Jenrick's vocal opposition to Justice Secretary David Lammy's proposals to abolish jury trials for a number of offences.

Then there were the reports that Mr Jenrick's Conservative Party may be eyeing up a deal to work with Nigel Farage's Reform UK ahead of the next General Election, although both Mr Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch have dismissed the idea.

But despite the two topical issues being at the forefront of most viewers' minds, Mr Balls opened the interview with Mr Jenrick by discussing the historic allegations of antisemitism levelled at Mr Farage from his former fellow school pupils.

Mr Farage has already publicly addressed the allegations made by former schoolmate Peter Ettedgui, saying on GB News: "I categorically deny saying those things, to that one individual, and frankly, for the Guardian and the BBC to be going back just shy of half a century to come out with this stuff it shows how desperate they are."

A few days after Mr Farage's response, Mr Ettedgui appeared on Good Morning Britain to repeat the allegations. So, rather than the jury trials controversy or reported Tory-Reform UK deal, Mr Balls put his focus on the antisemitism allegations when questioning Mr Jenrick.

"They were shocking interviews," Mr Balls said of the aforementioned discussions. "Nigel Farage has both said it’s untrue and also that there was no intent to cause harm. But Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick is with us now.

"When you hear that testimony, Mr Jenrick, is this the kind of person that you would want to be in a deal, or a merger with, between Reform and the Conservative Party?"

Mr Jenrick promptly responded: "Well, good morning, Ed. Look, my party’s leader, Kemi Badenoch, and, indeed, Nigel Farage himself, have said that there will be no deal, and so, there will be no deal.

"These are two separate parties, and it’s not in the interest of either party to enter into some kind of arrangement between us."

Despite his clear response, Mr Balls dug his heels in. "How do you feel when you listen to the testimony of those people who feel deeply hurt about what was said to them and many others by Nigel Farage, repeatedly, when they were at school?" he asked.

Mr Jenrick replied: "Well, it’s not at all pleasant to hear that. I’ve always fought against antisemitism and discrimination of any kind."

However, bemused by the line of questioning, he pointed out to Mr Balls: "I don’t know what happened 50 years ago, but it’s not for me to answer those questions.

"You need to get Nigel Farage on your programme to answer for what he may or may not have said in the past."

Eventually, Ms Reid took over the reins of the discussion and geared it towards Mr Jenrick's response to Mr Lammy's proposed changes to the justice system. "You have come out fighting this morning with a big article in the Daily Mail, defending the constitutional right to jury trials," she began.

"But I want to put to you something that the courts minister, Sarah Sackman, the MP, said. Judges described it as morale-sapping to see defendants opt for jury trials in the hope of collapsing their cases.

"They’re coming into court, they’re laughing in the face of the justices, knowing they can go back out on the streets and commit further offences.

"Do you have sympathy with the fact that in some cases, jury trials are working for the guilty party and not for justice?" Ms Reid quizzed, to which Mr Jenrick responded: "I don’t agree with Sarah Sackman on this point.

"I think it’s frankly shameful that there are court cases being listed for 2029 and 2030. Don’t get me wrong. Look, if a woman were raped today and the trial of her perpetrator took three, four, or even five years to come to court, that should shame us all. That’s a stain on our society.

"But the fault doesn’t lie with juries or the fact that there are too many jury trials. The fault lies in the administrative failure of the Ministry of Justice over a sustained period, particularly since the pandemic. And we have to fix that."

Taking aim at the reforms specifically, he said: "You don’t resolve that by ripping up a tradition, a right, that people have enjoyed in this country for at least 800 years.

"You fix that by getting the court sitting round the clock. And what shocks me today is the fact that there are courtrooms the length and breadth of the country sitting empty.

"And the lady who runs our criminal justice system, the Lady Chief Justice, has said that there are days that the courts could be sitting, but she’s offered the government proactively, and they’ve turned her down. Let’s get the courts sitting, not scrap our ancient liberties."

Despite the conversation delving into Mr Jenrick's thoughts on Labour's jury trial proposals, it's safe to say many were less than impressed with Mr Balls' direction at the top of the interview.

The former Labour MP faced complaints of showing a "bias", a "clear agenda", and even "desperation" for his attempts to get Mr Jenrick to comment on the allegations made against Mr Farage from half a century ago.

Taking to X, one user reacted to the interview by asking: "Why do you persist with things that may or may not have been said 50 years ago, by @Nigel_Farage? Ed Balls laboured this for far too long, he and Susanna Reid are quite aggressive against @RobertJenrick who stayed collected, whilst they try to goad him. I would like to see a proper interview with him, rather than what just happened there."

"A complete waste of our time. Ed’s bias is obvious and his demand for a soundbite or got you moment is there for all to see. Terrible TV," a second echoed.

'There will be no deal,' says @RobertJenrick. @edballs questions him following reports that Farage told donors he expects Reform UK will do an election deal with the Tories. pic.twitter.com/bqV4W8llzD

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) December 3, 2025

Meanwhile, a third sarcastically put: "So glad your focus of the interview is Farage and his school days 50 years ago... This show is becoming an embarrassment with its very clear agenda and bias, even spilling over into interviews that should be focused on something else."

Another weighed in: "Ed Balls at his best, desperation creeping in that Nigel Farage is still polling top & leftie Ed trying to insist what Farage said or didn’t, probably 2 practicing lefties making the non-provable allegations. Ed believes it."

"What an embarrassing interview... how uncomfortable asking about Farage again," a fifth concurred. "The fact you have even covered something that may or may not have happened 50 years ago is laughable. I’m actually red in the face for you. So out of touch."

The complaints kept coming from a sixth person who questioned: "What the f*** is Ed Balls doing? Persisting with asking Rob Jenerick to answer for Nigel Farage. Desperate Liebour character assassinations as they have nothing else to target Reform with. What an embarrassment." (sic)

And a further viewer pondered: "Why is Ed Balls going after Nigel for his wife? This should be against the rules; it is a witch hunt… let’s talk about real issues like a chancellor who misled everyone."

However, it wasn't just Mr Balls who came under fire, with several viewers also arguing that Mr Jenrick's answers fell below the desired threshold.

"It’s ok for him to criticise what the Labour Party are doing, but his lot was in for 14 years and could have made changes in that time like if they didn’t get rid of coppers we would have enough on the streets and if they built prisons or repaired the ones they closed," one X user argued. (sic)

And a second similarly took aim at the Shadow Justice Secretary: "More rubbish from Jenrick."