The media regulatory authority Ofcom has announced it will not initiate an investigation following Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s interview conducted by her spouse, Ed Balls, during a live broadcast.
Mr. Balls, a former Labour cabinet member and a frequent host on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, inquired about riots affecting the UK during the program aired in August.
At that time, Ofcom noted receiving 8,201 complaints regarding the segment. Some complaints were related to Mr. Balls’s interview with Ms. Cooper, while others stemmed from a discussion featuring MP Zarah Sultana.
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Following an examination of the grievances, the media watchdog has opted not to pursue further inquiries.
Nonetheless, ITV has received directives emphasizing the necessity for “special caution” in future interviews of this nature to “ensure a balanced impartiality is maintained”.
An Ofcom representative conveyed to Sky News: “Considering that the nature of their relationship was clarified on two separate occasions, that a variety of perspectives regarding Labour’s management of the riots were represented within the program overall, and acknowledging that the vast majority of the interview was conducted by co-host Kate Garraway, we will not be taking any further actions.”
“However, we have provided guidance to ITV to exercise additional caution regarding the compliance of such interviews in the future to safeguard impartiality, given the evident potential issues that could arise from such editorial choices.”
The matter of politicians interviewing other politicians has sparked controversy in recent years, particularly when GB News permitted several Conservative MP presenters to question their colleagues.
Mr. Balls is no longer a political figure, having transitioned to a media career and participated in Strictly Come Dancing after losing his parliamentary seat in 2015.
The couple has been wed for over 25 years and share three children.
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Prior to the August interview, the former shadow chancellor expressed that he had “authentic questions” for his partner, noting that he had “seldom seen her at all in the previous week” due to the unrest occurring on the streets.
Although inquiries were predominantly led by GMB’s hostess, Kate Garraway, Mr. Balls pressed his spouse on charges of “two-tier policing”—a term reflecting the notion that some protests and demonstrations are managed with greater severity than others.
