Susanna Reid and Ed Balls in ITV GMB 'bullying' row as 'car crash' Robert Jenrick grilling sparks uproar: 'They have an agenda!'

However, throughout the interview, the trio regularly found themselves talking over one another, with Mr Jenrick facing challenge after challenge from the hosts.

But it wasn't just the presenters who came under fire from those watching at home, with Mr Jenrick also facing criticism for his supposedly "cocky" responses.

In one particularly frosty exchange, Mr Balls quizzed Mr Jenrick on his personal ambition following his defection. "I want people to be ambitious," Mr Jenrick began.

"Most people in the country are ambitious. And so I’m not ashamed to say, look, I want to be on a team which has the opportunity to fix the country and to turn things around.

"Is it a dead set? No, absolutely not. Look, it’s in the balance, as it is for the country right now. We don’t know what the future holds.

"You know how uncertain politics is at the best of times, let alone in the febrile world that we live in right now.

"I can’t predict the future, but I can say this: that I do believe the next election is going to be very important, because the 20 or 30 years that we’ve lived through now — and I’m not blaming one party or the other, I think it’s the whole political class together — has led to a situation where the economy has not really grown.

"People’s wages have stagnated. Everything from the potholes in the road to the NHS waiting list feels like it’s going in the wrong direction.

"I’ve made an argument for a long time that immigration has been out of control and had bad effects on people’s lives-"

Ms Reid then cut in to highlight to those at home: "Just to point out to viewers, you were immigration minister."

"I was," Mr Jenrick responded. Ms Reid promptly continued: "I mean, you were literally in the position where you could have done something."

"I did. I did do that," Mr Jenrick answered as he attempted to stand his ground, only for Ms Reid to mock: "Yes, you let a lot of people in and set up asylum hotels."

"Wrong. Wrong, Susanna," Mr Jenrick protested. "Both of those things are wrong, Susanna."

Ms Reid kept the pressure on the new Reform UK MP: "Right, so you failed in your job?"

"No — well, let me finish. It’s a bit of a silly argument, because the way-" Mr Jenrick began to respond only to find himself interrupted once more.

Ms Reid interjected: "What’s the silly argument? To say you were once in government and now you’re saying that was a government that failed?"

Mr Jenrick insisted: "To say that the number of people who came in under my watch rose. Actually, the way it works is-"

The Reform UK politician was again interrupted, this time by Mr Balls. "It was the worst year for small boats when you were the immigration minister," the former Labour MP said.

Mr Jenrick once again declared the pair were wrong before he answered: "It was the year in which the numbers fell by a third when I was in office. The only minister under whose watch the numbers actually came down."

Ms Reid spoke over Mr Jenrick once again to ask why then he resigned at the time, to which he explained: "That’s because we signed up the Albania deal, which meant we started to get people out of the country."

The GMB host asked again why Mr Jenrick resigned as immigration minister. When Mr Jenrick replied by saying the government's actions "weren't enough", a bemused Ms Reid intervened: "Sorry — you resigned from a position where you could do something because you couldn’t do enough?"

Mr Jenrick tried to stand firm: "I made changes to the system. We got the number of small boats coming down by a third. We started to close the hotels, which were a total disgrace. 100 of them we got closed.

"I pushed for Rishi Sunak to make changes to legal migration, which take time to come in. So the results you’re seeing today — the fact that numbers are coming down — is a result of those changes coming into effect.

"I mean, Ed, from your experience, you know that’s how it works. You make the changes, and then future ministers are the beneficiaries of that.

"But, this is the important thing: I was not willing — or not able — to win the ultimate argument with Rishi, which is that we had to hive out all of these human rights claims and end this merry-go-round of legal claims, leave the ECHR [European Court of Human Rights].

"And that was the only way in which you could detain and deport people coming across in the small boats. And so I did what I believed was the right thing, the honourable thing, which was to resign on a matter of principle, go on to the backbenches, campaign against and even vote against the last Conservative government."

Mr Balls then took the reins of the conversation, cutting in to ask: "If it was so obvious that Britain was broken at that point... If it was so obvious when you became immigration minister, then after one or two months, you would have resigned on principle.

"You hung on for over a year, and when you judged Rishi Sunak was going to lose, your personal ambition dictated that you’d be stronger. There’s nothing wrong with that. It was a political gambit!"

"Ed, Ed, Ed, Ed," Mr Jenrick interrupted. "When I resigned from the last Conservative government, I thought that was the end of my political career.

"I had no idea that I would ever do anything — honestly, I never had any idea that I would go back. I went on to the backbenches, and I voted against the government."

Following the rather heated exchange and numerous interruptions, the interview eventually drew to its conclusion following Ms Reid's parting question.

She asked: "What trust should your constituents have in you? You stood on the Conservative manifesto, and you were elected as the constituency MP on the Conservative manifesto.

"I’m sure there are plenty of Conservative voters who think, 'Hang on, you’re not our MP anymore. Let us have a by-election and vote for the person we want to represent what we voted for.'"

Mr Jenrick replied: "Yeah, I understand that. It’s a perfectly reasonable question. I’m not going to do a by-election. In our system, you vote for an individual. I appreciate that a lot of people also vote on party lines as well.

'You were Immigration Minister. You were literally in the position where you could have done something about immigration.'@susannareid100 challenges Robert Jenrick on his record as Immigration Minister following his decision to leave the Conservative Party and join Reform UK. pic.twitter.com/YTtQy13J0r

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) January 19, 2026

"But I’ve always tried to be an independent member of parliament — or independent-minded member of parliament.

"At the last general election, I think there’s evidence, really, by the fact that I was the only Conservative MP to hold my seat. The whole of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire — all the comparable seats — went mostly Labour.

"People, I think, voted for me because many people did because they’d seen that I’d resigned. They knew that I spoke my mind. And what my constituents can be certain of is that I’ll keep doing that. I’ll keep representing them, keep holding Labour to account even more strongly.

"And I’m going to use the platform that I’m lucky enough to have as their MP to make the argument that the country needs something new — a big change — and that the best way to bring that about is by rallying behind Nigel and getting a Reform government."

Following the exchange, social media was alight with viewers at home keen to share their opinions on how the interview was conducted as well as Mr Jenrick's responses.

And reacting to the interview, one X user blasted the conduct of Ms Reid and Mr Balls, specifically: "How rude are Ed Balls and Susanna Reid when talking to Jenrick. Have they an agenda against him?"

"Can somebody just remind me who Ed Balls’ wife is, please? The always impartial Good Morning Britain. #GMB," a second commented, alluding to Mr Balls' marriage to Yvette Cooper.

Elsewhere, a third asked: "@GMB wtf is it with Ed Balls and Susanna Reid? Asking questions and never allowing a guest to reply without constantly interrupting? Who do they think they are? Terrible for some viewers who want to hear the answers." (sic)

And a fourth echoed: "@GMB Susanna Reid & Ed Balls showing disrespect at its finest.....making a point then over-talking the answer because they aren't getting the answer they want. Absolutely car crash interviewing #stealingaliving."

"What is wrong with these presenters' bullying tactics are disgraceful......both of them are like growling demented rotweilers towards this MP.....#gmb," a fifth questioned, before a sixth penned: "I wish these two were as rigorous when interviewing Labour politicians, stopping answers. #GMB."

However, there was also plenty of support for Ms Reid and Mr Balls' robust interviewing techniques, with some applauding the pair for putting Mr Jenrick on the spot.

"Very cocky Robert Jenrick car crashing LIVE now on #GMB interview," one X user typed alongside a laughing emoji, while a second argued: "Don’t find myself agreeing with Ed Balls often, but he’s got Jenrick on toast on GMB."

A third also defended the presenting duo: "Ed and Suze, better than Laura K at interviewing politicians and this is just a morning news programme. #GMB." (sic)