The media regulatory authority Ofcom has announced that it will not initiate an inquiry following the live television interview conducted by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s husband, Ed Balls.
Mr. Balls, a previous Labour cabinet member and a frequent host on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, questioned Ms. Cooper concerning the riots currently affecting the UK during the segment aired in August.
At that time, Ofcom reported receiving 8,201 complaints associated with this broadcast. Some complaints focused on Mr. Balls’s interview with Ms. Cooper, while others concerned a discussion involving MP Zarah Sultana.
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Upon reviewing these complaints, the media authority has ultimately resolved not to pursue a detailed investigation.
However, ITV has been advised to exercise “particular care” in future interviews of this kind to “maintain due impartiality”.
An Ofcom representative informed Sky News: “Considering that their relationship was disclosed on two occasions, that a variety of perspectives regarding Labour’s management of the riots were reflected in the broadcast overall, and since the substantial majority of the interview was facilitated by co-presenter Kate Garraway, we will not be advancing further.”
“Nonetheless, we have issued recommendations to ITV to be particularly cautious regarding the adherence to impartiality in similar interviews going forward, bearing in mind the obvious potential complications that may arise from such editorial choices.”
The matter of politicians interviewing fellow politicians has been contentious in recent years, especially after GB News permitted several Conservative MP presenters to interrogate their peers.
Mr. Balls has transitioned from a political career to media, having also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing since exiting his political post in 2015.
The journalist and Ms. Cooper have celebrated over 25 years of marriage and share three children.
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Prior to the August interview, the former shadow chancellor expressed that he had “authentic inquiries” for his spouse, as he had “hardly seen her at all in the previous week” due to the chaos in the streets.
Although the questioning was primarily directed by GMB host Kate Garraway, Mr. Balls interrogated his wife on allegations of “two-tier policing”—a term used to depict the notion that certain protests and demonstrations receive differing levels of enforcement.
