Labour minister-turned journalist Ed Balls has “let himself down” according to his own boss at ITV, after he somewhat hijacked an interview on the Hatzola ambulance attack with Jewish author Dov Forman to bring in politics.
Balls was interviewing Forman on Good Morning Britain (GMB) who was at the scene of last week’s antisemitic arson attack in Golders Green which left four ambulances destroyed, when he brought up comments made by shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy “singling out the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, for praying in Trafalgar Square in a Muslim group”. He then asked the 22-year-old: “Isn't that the kind of intolerance and divisiveness which is causing problems in the Jewish community right now?"
Forman, after offering Balls a short response to the unrelated question, said: “We are here to talk about the antisemitic attack this morning in the Jewish community.”
Balls’ question has led to complaints and forced both the editor of GMB Daniel Robinson and the director of news at ITV Andrew Dagnell to hold a meeting with the Board of Deputies vice-president, Karen Newman, as understood by Jewish News.
Dagnell has also said that Balls “let himself down,” according to the outlet.
A source told the paper: “Ed agreed that his interview didn’t hit the right tone, there is a climate of intolerance to minority religions, and Ed accepted that he carried out the interview in a clumsy way...
“Instead of concentrating solely on speaking to a young Jewish man and getting his thoughts and concerns about the latest hideous antisemitic attack to rock the community, it was as though Balls had other issues that he wanted to put to Forman.”
Another source said that “you just can’t show any political bias if you are a presenter”.
An ITV source confirmed that Ed has been warned “from the very highest level” that he must stop using the GMB role as a platform for his own politics, according to Jewish News.
After our original story on the interview, a GMB spokesperson told the JC: “The intention behind Balls’ question was to ask whether a culture of intolerance was placing Jews at greater risk of harm in the UK.
"We regret any misunderstanding and apologise for any offence caused.”
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