‘I had a similar experience!’ Matt Goodwin erupts at BBC Question Time as ‘bias’ row erupts over Reform’s Zia Yusuf
Political commentator Matt Goodwin has launched a scathing attack on BBC Question Time, accusing the programme of bias following Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf’s contentious appearance on Thursday night’s show.
The GB News fan-favourite claimed he had experienced similar treatment on the programme and criticised what he described as unfair handling of Reform UK representatives.
His comments came after a heated exchange between Yusuf and Labour’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, which saw presenter Fiona Bruce forced to physically intervene to restore order.
The confrontation began when Yusuf claimed Labour and the Conservatives were “exactly the same”, prompting Jones to say he took “personal offence” at the remark.
Jones accused Reform and the Conservatives of offering “simple answers to complex promises but do not tell you how they are going to do it.”
When Yusuf responded “I tell you what’s offensive, insulting the intelligence of the British people,” Jones cut in: “I didn’t – I insulted your intelligence. Answer the question!”
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The exchange deteriorated as Yusuf attempted to question Jones about council tax increases, but was repeatedly interrupted with Jones asking “How?” and stating “You won’t answer the question.”
Yusuf accused the minister of “gaslighting” the British public, claiming “You consistently prioritise foreign citizens.”
Matt revealed he had endured a similar experience on the programme, stating: “I had a similar experience to Zia Yusuf on Question Time.
Labour minister Jacqui Smith told me a couple of months ago the numbers are coming down, the numbers are going through the roof.”
The political commentator accused Labour of deliberately misleading the public about migration figures.
“They want to live in a world they see this as acceptable. These people are leaving a safe country and if there are one or two women and babies in these boats, what kind of parent puts their baby in a boat crossing the busiest shipping lane in the Western world?” Matt said.
He described the government’s approach as “a disservice to the British taxpayers” and accused them of “lying to people to downplay the severity of this crisis.”
Matt presented specific statistics to support his claims that migration numbers are increasing despite government assertions to the contrary.
“Labour are also gaslighting people by saying they are bringing numbers down,” he stated on GB News.
According to the GB News star, “The numbers are nearly 50 per cent higher on the same point last year, nearly 80 per cent higher on the same point in 2023.”
The dispute over migration figures arose during the Question Time debate when Jones claimed “the majority of the people in these [small migrant] boats are children, babies and women.”
Yusuf immediately challenged this assertion, stating that “more than 90 per cent of them are adult men.”
Matt’s intervention adds to mounting criticism of both the BBC’s handling of political debates and the Government’s presentation of migration statistics.