17 October 2023 , 08:49
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Good Morning Britain viewers have called for Richard Madeley to be taken off the ITV show after an "appalling" question.
Richard and his co-star Susanna Reid were joined on the ITV breakfast show this morning by Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West & Abingdon, as she discussed her relatives being stuck in Gaza. However, one question Richard asked her left her open-mouthed, as he asked whether she knew of what was going to happen in Gaza before it did.
"With your family connections in Gaza, did you have any indication of what was going to happen ten days ago, two weeks ago? Was there there any word on the street?", he asked, leaving Ms Moran stunned. "Not this, not this," she replied, clearly shocked by his questioning, before adding: "Everyone, everyone has been surprised first of all by the timing and sophistication and they way that it's happened. What I will say is that I've been warning, and others have in Parliament as well for a number of years now, that if we don't find a way..."
Richard was criticised for his question to Ms Moran (ITV)She added: "People say 'go back to the negotiating table'. The fact of the matter is there has not been a table, let alone to go back to a negotiating table for at least ten years. This is a cycle of violence. My worry now is that this is radicalising another generation on all sides. We have to stop this hatred. We have to bring people together and find a way through. Peace is harder than war. It's harder."
Taking to Twitter, angry fans fumed over Richard's comment, and urged him to "apologise immediately" and said he should be pulled off the show owing to his "insensitive" and "appalling" questions. One wrote: "Such an appalling, indefensible question from Richard Madeley. How on earth would Layla Moran know what Hamas was planning? The Israeli intelligence services claim they didn’t even know! Good Morning Britain please sack Richard Madeley."
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"Absolutely disgusting from #GMB and Richard Madeley. He should apologize immediately and be pulled off the air. Solidarity with Layla Moran. It's a tough time to be Arab, even tougher to be Palestinian with the stereotypes being thrown about," [sic] a second added, as a third took to Twitter to share: "I've seen Richard Madeley ask some insensitive questions but this?"
A fourth penned: "Richard Madeley asks the dumbest questions at times," whilst a fifth wrote: "Don't know if Richard is just ignorant of other cultures in general. He thinks people in from one race all think and act the same he doesn't seem to think they are individuals."
Richard has now apologised for his comments, with an ITV spokesperson telling The Mirror: "Richard is sorry that he has upset viewers with his question to Layla Moran. His intention was to understand the mood and atmosphere amongst the civilian population of Gaza immediately before the attacks.
"He asked Layla about her family in Gaza City because she had discussed speaking to them earlier in the interview. He did not mean to imply that she or her family might have had any prior knowledge of the attacks."
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