Richard Madeley has been accused of seeking “gotcha” moments and urged to “do some research” following his remarks to Foreign Office Minister, Hamish Falconer, during Monday’s show.
Mr Falconer joined Mr Madeley and co-host Susanna Reid via video link to discuss the role the UK played in Monday’s historic deal that saw Israeli hostages captured on October 7, 2023, returned home.
Spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, who was celebrated in the Israeli Knesset once the 20 living hostages were handed back, the deal marks a significant milestone in the future of the Middle East.
As part of the peace deal between Israel and Hamas, over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be freed in exchange.
ITV GMB: Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid fronted Monday’s show
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While many global plaudits have been aimed at President Trump, the same can’t be said for the UK after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer decided to recognise the state of Palestine prior to the president’s peace deal.
However, over the weekend, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson claimed the UK played a “key role” in securing the deal, a claim that led to Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, calling her “delusional”.
In the hours before the Israeli hostages returned home, however, Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, appeared to back Ms Phillipson, insisting the UK did indeed play a “vital role” in negotiations.
Putting the latest developments to Mr Falconer on Monday’s GMB, the Foreign Office Minister fired back: “Richard, let me be clear. This is a huge breakthrough. It’s a historic day.
ITV GMB: Hamish Falconer faced questions via video link
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“President Trump, his whole team, and the other mediators — that’s Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey — all deserve huge amounts of credit. This is such a welcome breakthrough.
“I think what the Education Secretary said yesterday was perfectly reasonable. She said the President played a critical role and that we played a key role behind the scenes.
“The special envoy of Donald Trump — that’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff — said this morning that we played a vital role and that Jonathan Powell in particular played an important role.
“I don’t think today is a day to argue about credit. There are clearly a lot more important questions to be focused on.
ITV GMB: Richard Madeley came under fire for his line of questioning
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ITV
“The UK has played a role. I’ve tried to do my part, as, of course, has the current Foreign Secretary. The former Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister are in Egypt today.
“I can say a little bit more about the UK’s role if your listeners would be interested. But the key thing today, I think, is those scenes we’re seeing — both of hostages being released and Palestinians in safety after the ceasefire.”
But Mr Madeley appeared to want to fixate on the criticism levelled towards the UK, despite Mr Witkoff’s glowing endorsement that Mr Falconer referenced.
The ITV host probed: “Well, it wasn’t just the US Ambassador to Israel that described her as delusional. The Israeli Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister said that actually we played the — and I quote him — ‘the opposite of a key role’ in the peace deal because we declared that Palestine was a state. And that, he says, was deeply unhelpful in terms of the timing.”
ITV GMB: Hamish Falconer praised the UK’s role in the peace deal
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ITV
Mr Falconer replied: “So there’s no secret, Richard, as we discussed when I was last on this programme, that the Israeli government and the British government have a profound disagreement on a whole range of questions.
“Our recognition of the Palestinian state is one of the most obvious areas. We have disagreed with them about the conduct of the war in Gaza, about the limitations on aid getting in.
“Today is a happy day because we should see aid going in in the way in which we’ve always insisted it should — that is, under the auspices of the United Nations.
“I’m not going to enter into an argument with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, who, in fact, is a lady called Sharon Haskell rather than a man.
“We do disagree with the Israeli government on a whole set of questions. But what is important now is that we all focus on phase two. There are really vital questions to be tackled now.
“That is why the Prime Minister is in Egypt — to give his steadfast support to the efforts of President Trump and all of the mediators.
“So while I will be co-chairing a conference here in the UK today on the reconstruction of Gaza, that aid must flood in. The hostages will need time to be reunited with their families. Hamas must have no role in Gaza. They must be disarmed.
“These are the vital questions that we now need to move to in phase two,” Mr Falconer concluded. After footage of the discussion was shared on social media, viewers had one very similar complaint.
“Oh dear, GMB. Please keep up and read Witkoff’s statement,” one X user moaned before a second hit out: “For your information @GMB #EggOnYourFace… If only Reid and Madeley had done some research. Journalism, what journalism?”
“Phillipson was correct, according to Steve Witkoff on X this morning,” a third echoed before a fourth fumed: “Madeley is out of his depth. Get rid.”
“Richard Madeley is delusional,” a fifth weighed in. “He believes himself to be a journalist. Concentrating on the words of Bridget Philipson after the US envoy to the Middle East has acknowledged UK’s role in securing the agreement. Madeley & #GMB are seeking a gotcha; they aren’t interested in facts.”
And a sixth similarly criticised: “Earlier Richard Madeley said that Bridget Phillipson had ‘humiliated’ the country when she said that the UK had played a key role behind the scenes in bringing about the ceasefire. The tweet from Steve Witkoff supported her. Perhaps RM would now care to apologise.” (sic)