'You can't just put false information out into the public knowing what happens'@susannareid100 and @edballs challenge @Nigel_Farage over the accusation that he was 'irresponsible and dangerous' for suggesting the police were withholding the truth about the Southport attack. pic.twitter.com/6q4d20Ib27
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) October 2, 2024
Ed Balls and Susanna Reid skewered Nigel Farage for spreading false rumours in the wake of the Southport attacks in July.
The Reform UK leader tried to defend his response to the tragedy, which saw three young girls stabbed to death and eight others injured while attending a Taylor Swift-theme dance class in the school holidays.
At the time, the MP for Clacton posted a video online in which he amplified misinformation that the alleged killer was a migrant who had been under surveillance by the security services. It has since been confirmed he is a British citizen.
The online rumours led to violent scenes at a vigil for the three children, which then sparked days of riots across England and Northern Ireland.
Farage later admitted that he had been repeating unfounded rumours being spread by, among others, Andrew Tate.
On ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning, Farage once again insisted that the truth about the alleged killer’s background had been “withheld” from the public.
Susanna Reid told him: “The truth was that the suspect was not under surveillance.”
But Farage replied: “Why do you think the riots happened in the way that they did? Because there was a vacuum, people were not being told the truth.”
Ed Balls then said: “The speculation online was that this was a migrant who did this. The man charged was a British citizen.
“You fed the rumours, you inflamed the rumours. You on social media gave the impression that there was truth behind the idea that this was a migrant who had done this and it was untrue.”
Farage hit back: “I was saying tell the truth, give the public information, and the problems will die down.”
Balls then said: “You’re a member of parliament. You’ve got responsibilities now. You can’t just behave like some pundit on some TV show.
“You have to behave in a responsible way. If you give the impression to people that what’s being hidden is that it’s a migrant who is committing these crimes, you end up with riots in the streets and hotels being burned.”
But Farage replied: “If the government and the police done what I’d asked, those riots would have been nothing like as bad.”
Reid then told him: “Nigel Farage, with power comes responsibility, and you cannot just on camera raise spurious questions which you know will inflame people.
“We know as broadcasters you can’t just put false information into the public knowing what happens. That’s exactly what you did.”
