Martin Lewis has apologised for ‘gatecrashing’ Kemi Badenoch’s Good Morning Britain interview, as the pair clashed about student loans.
The money-saving-expert, who was originally meant to be on GMB to discuss Rachel Reeve’s plans to freeze the Plan 2 student loan repayment threshold, appeared out of nowhere to ambush the Conservative leader.
Asked by co-hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls about her party’s plans to cut interest rates for some student loans, Badenoch attempted to answer whether it would only help former students in the highest-paying jobs.
However, before she could finish, Lewis, who was shouting from off-camera, stormed onto the set to stand in front of Badenoch.
Staring directly at the politician, Lewis said: ‘If you want to help the middle-earning students, the most important thing is the repayment threshold should have been increased.’
After taking a seat next to Balls, Badenoch then insisted: ‘I’m the first person who’s even trying to solve this problem.’
She then accused both Balls and Lewis of ‘talking over her’ as she said: ‘Excuse me, let me explain what my policy is. I want to make sure that those young people who are paying and paying but their debt is not going down get a relief.’
Reacting to the clip on social media, James Heale wrote on X: ‘This is terrific telly. What on earth was Martin Lewis even doing?’
Sascha similarly questioned ‘why he is standing up’, as Oliver suggested: ‘[I] really wouldn’t try taking on Martin Lewis.’
However, not all viewers were as entertained with Lewis’ approach, as Tom argued: ‘Slightly unprofessional for Martin Lewis to storm into the interview.’
Debby similarly felt that both Balls and Lewis ‘ambushed’ the politician ‘unfairly’.
Taking to X following their debate, Lewis apologised for ‘gatecrashing’ Badenoch’s interview, writing: ‘Student loans are so life-impacting that I wanted to ensure the key point was made – that financially, if not psychologically, the repayment threshold is a bigger issue than the interest.
‘Thank you for being so courteous after the interruption – you handled it far better than I would have the other way round. I have asked my office to request a meeting, if you are available, to discuss this more calmly.’
Badenoch also posted the clip of their debate on her account, captioning the post: ‘Really good to debate @MartinSLewis this morning.
‘We both want to see the student loan burden brought down, while Labour hike it up. I’m sticking up for young people in the student loan trap, because no-one else in politics is.’
The Conservative plan, which was set out last night, would cut the rate of interest charged on some student loans issued in the decade up to 2023.
The change would be financed by cutting tens of thousands of university courses that do not provide ‘value for money’ for students. I
Good Morning Britain is available to watch on ITV1.
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