Ed Balls snaps at Reform MP overheard calling their GMB interview 'waste of time'

Jenrick - who had appeared via video call - said goodbye to the hosts at the end of their interview and was heard saying on his mic moments later: “That was a waste of time.”There was a pause before Balls clapped back: “I think it wasn’t a waste of time.“Robert Jenrick gave us very clear answers on the police investigation; it’s not a waste of time for him to make clear that he believes there’s no police investigation.”He added: “It was good he came on the programme.”Ed Balls and Susanna Reid interviewed Robert Jenrick ITVReid, who was seen looking nonplussed when Jenrick made the comment, said they were “very grateful for his time”. Jenrick later re-shared a clip of the moment on X and blasted former Labour shadow chancellor Balls’ ties to the government.“We’ve got Ed’s useless mates back in government, people are struggling, and he can’t be bothered to ask how Reform would do things differently,” he posted.His hot mic comment on GMB left viewers divided, with one writing: “Bob a job Generic flapping about like a headless chicken when Ed grilled him about the police investigation.”Another asked: “Why did he think it was a waste of time?”Balls hit back, saying the interview ‘wasn’t a waste of time’ITV“Reid is just as biased,” she added. “Their slant has always been obvious, and it shows in every interview.”“It’s always a waste of time talking to anyone on GMB,” someone else wrote.Farage reportedly received an undeclared £5 million gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Harborne. The money was given shortly before the 2024 general election, triggering a parliamentary investigation by the Commons standards watchdog into whether he breached the MPs' register of interests.Balls has faced a slew of controversies since he started hosting on GMB.The interview prompted 16,000 complaints to Ofcom. ITV defended the interview at the time but said it would not be repeated.Read MorePolanski, 43, complained about being interview by Balls, calling him a “Labour politician” and accusing him of bias.He said: “Do you know what I’m enjoying? The fact that a Labour politician who’s married to a senior Labour minister is allowed to ask questions of a leader of a Green Party.”“Are you accusing me of being a Labour politician?” Balls asked.Polanski replied: “I’m accusing you… Well, it’s not even an accusation. We are planning to replace the Labour Party and take the fight to Reform, but what you’re asking me right now…”Balls with his Labour MP wife Yvette Cooper GettyBalls interrupted: “You said I was a Labour politician. Did you mean that or not?“I haven’t been a Labour minister for 20 years. Unfortunately, Mr Polanski, I lost my seat in 2015 and I’ve not been a Labour politician for 10 years.”Later, Polankski refused to answer questions about his former job as a hypnotherapist, accusing Balls of using “shock-jock tactics” and “pretending to be a journalist who’s interrogating the leader of a political party... with a very strong association with a Labour government who are currently in power”.