Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid has defended Rylan Clark in a tense debate following the harsh criticism he received for remarks he made on illegal immigration.
While hosting ITV's This Morning last week, the former Celebrity Big Brother star offered his opinion on a debate over Reform UK leader Nigel Farage's intentions for mass deportations.
The controversial politician had declared that if his party wins the next election, they would deport hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants over five years.
Clark acknowledged the positive impact of immigration on the nation's development while on broadcast, but he also mentioned that there is “something wrong” with the way refugees are welcomed, which led others to accuse him of being “misinformed”.
“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.”
Clark continued: “How can it be that if I turn up at Heathrow Airport as a British citizen and I’ve left my passport in Spain, I’ve got to stand at that airport and won’t be let in. But if I arrive on a boat from Calais, I get taken to a four-star hotel?”
But now he has come under the spotlight again.
Immigration was brought up when correspondents Kevin Maguire and Andrew Pierce visited Reid and her co-host Ed Balls in the studio during Tuesday's broadcast of GMB.
The Daily Mirror newspaper's associate editor, Maguire, then took aim, claiming that Clark had “regurgitated terrible myths”.
Before Maguire could finish what he was saying, Reid said: “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.”
Reid stated that Clark did not want to convey an anti-migration message, adding that she believes “it is the duty of the 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”.
Maguire replied: “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.”
Reid maintained her support for Clark despite Maguire's accusation that Clark was “regurgitating propaganda”.
