Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid was forced to step in as her co-star slammed Rylan Clark in a tense debate on the ITV show following his views on immigration.
Susanna Reid was forced to step in during Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, after her co-star targeted Rylan Clark during a heated debate. Tuesday’s show, September 2, saw Susanna joined by colleague Ed Balls.
They had been bringing viewers the latest headlines from across Britain and further afield. Alex Beresford delivered routine weather bulletins, whilst Ranvir Singh covered additional daily headlines.
However the ITV show quickly took a drastic turn when regular panellists Kevin Maguire and Andrew Pierce appeared to discuss current affairs. Topic of discussion swiftly turned to immigration issues.
Kevin then criticised Rylan following his remarks on the subject during last week’s This Morning appearance. It comes as the TV personality faced severe criticism for his immigration-related statements, as he later issued a public response.
“All these terrible myths that Rylan Clark regurgitated, spouted most of them,” Kevin declared on today’s GMB morning programme as reported by the Mirror.
Rylan has caused a wave of controversy over his opinions on the topical matter(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Susanna quickly interrupted, stating, “Hang on. He pointed out that this country is built on immigration, and he was grateful to all of the migrants who have come to the NHS for helping support his mum.
“He was actually concerned, though, that we’ve got a sort of welcome to the UK, and we don’t know who all of these people are.
“I have to say, Kevin, it is the duty of government, as the government itself would acknowledge, that we control borders and we do not just welcome everybody if we don’t know who they are. And I think Rylan’s message struck a chord with a lot of people… He did not want it to be an anti-migration message.”
Kevin responded: “He also regurgitated a load of myths and lies. Let’s not ignore that… Myths and lies have gone mainstream, and we’ve got to challenge that, we’ve got to push back on that.”
Susanna concluded: “Rylan also pointed out that we also have a homelessness problem, the government itself acknowledges that there’s not enough housing. So, I just think that to say that what Rylan said was outrageous, regurgitating propaganda [was wrong].”
Following the heated exchange, viewers rushed to social media to express their frustration at Kevin’s remarks, whilst others praised Susanna for shutting the discussion down.
“@susannareid100 deserves a knighthood for the way she just annihilated Kevin Maguire for totally misquoting @Rylan. Slayed,” one viewer posted on Twitter.
A second viewer commented: “This is ridiculous,” whilst a third remarked, “Reid protecting the ITV family.”
On This Morning last week, Rylan said: “This country is built on immigration. Legal immigration – a lot of the nurses, the doctors that have saved my mum’s life, have come over here from other countries. They’re living a great life, they’re paying into this tax system, they’re helping this country thrive.”
But he criticised the increase in dangerous Channel crossings, adding: “I find it absolutely insane that all these people are risking their lives coming across the Channel.
“And when they get here, it does seem, and I think this is why a lot of Labour voters as well are saying there’s something wrong, it feels like, ‘Welcome, come on in’. That’s the narrative we’re being fed.”
He continued: “Here’s the iPad. Here’s the NHS in reception of your hotel. Here’s three meals a day. Here’s a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time and welcome.”
After his comments received huge backlash online, the star went on to issue a further statement on Instagram.
He said: “You can be pro immigration and against illegal routes. You can support trans people and have the utmost respect for women. You can be heterosexual and still support gay rights. The list continues. Stop with this ‘putting everyone in a box’ exercise and maybe have conversations instead of shouting on Twitter.”
Good Morning Britain returns weekdays at 6am.
Join the Daily Record’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.