Good Morning Britain star Narinder Kaur has faced a mixed reaction online after she defended Rachel Reeves. The TV star took to social media to argue that the Chancellor was being “horribly bullied”.
Laura Kuenssberg questioned Ms Reeves on Sunday about whether the public had been misled before the Budget. The Chancellor said she “of course” did not “lie” to the public in the run-up to the autumn statement and tried to justify her decisions. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that Ms Reeves should resign over her comments.
Kaur reacted to the interview and said on X: “I understand that we need to know if Rachel Reeves lied … but the manner in which Trevor Phillips and now #bbclaurak are talking to Reeves is shocking.
“Like she's a naughty schoolkid – demeaning. Kemi Badenoch seems to have started this last week. Rachel Reeves is being bullied as we speak. Horribly bullied.”
On one hand, Kaur's opinion sparked backlash. In the comments section, Jeremy Clarkson simply typed back: “Diddums,” which prompted Narinder to reply: “There is a way to be firm without being borderline bullying. And had Trevor Phillips done so, he would have won that exchange.”
A second person disagreed and argued: “She is in one of the most powerful positions in this country and should be able to deal with difficult interviews.”
A third also echoed: “Could not disagree more with this statement. Our politicians need to be held to account and Laura/Trevor both did this without any form of demeaning behaviour.”
A fourth added: “Just listened again. Trevor was basically reminding her to answer the question. That's what a journalist should do. He's known for being direct, and that's a good thing.”
Another also said: “He wasn't that bad,” to which Kaur replied: “It was borderline demeaning.”
However, one person agreed with Kaur and said, “I don't think this was too bad, but you are correct about relentless.
“I have plenty of issues with Labor and the Budget, but I do think she is being unnecessarily vilified and at times bullied. People forget that politicians are also human.”