Good Morning Britain's Ben Shephard forced to halt…

Good Morning Britain's Ben Shephard forced to halt heated Gary Lineker debate

Ben Shephard was forced to step in as things grew increasingly tense during a debate on Good Morning Britain over recent comments made by Gary Lineker.

The BBC presenter has raised discussions after commenting on a video from the Home Office in which Suella Braverman outlined the Government's Illegal Immigration Bill. The Home Secretary said that the UK's asylum system has been "overwhelmed" by "unsafe, unncessecary and illegal" channel crossings, saying: "Enough is enough. We must stop the boats."

Writing on Twitter, the Match of the Day presenter said in response to the statement: "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?"

Downing Street criticised the presenter's comments as "not acceptable" and "disappointing", while the BBC confirmed that he would "be spoken to and reminded of his responsibilities on social media". The reaction has sparked a debate over whether celebrities should "stay out" of politics, which was the subject of a heated discussion on Good Morning Britain, the Manchester Evening News reports.

As Terry Christian and Dominique Samuels appeared in the studio to give their opposing opinions, hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard were forced to intervene when tensions quickly rose. Terry said that he thought Gary’s comments were harmless, but Dominique argued: "This is a democratic elected government, it was elected on its manifesto pledge which always seeks to reduce immigration, the public, in general, wants to reduce immigration. To compare that to Nazi Germany..."

But Terry cut across her to retaliate: "He didn't though, did he? He said the language..." But Dominique pressed on: "No he did, to say the 1930s, we all know what was happening there and we all know what it led to.

"It led to the deaths of millions of people, so to actually make light of that and compare it to wanting to stop illegal migration, I think is disgusting." To which Terry hit back: "We've moved away from what the question is though haven't we? It's about free speech!"

As the pair continued to talk over one another, Kate tried to steer the debate back on track as she suggested: "Let Terry finish and then you come back Dominique." Ben then chimed in as the interruptions continued, saying: "Hold on Terry. Terry, Terry, Terry, let Dominique respond."

But both Kate and Ben's attempts to smooth out the conversation fell short, as Terry and Dominique continued to talk over one another in an attempt to get their opposing points across. Eventually, Ben had to cut the pair off as they ran out of time on the segment, ending it with an abrupt: "Stop it now, stop it now. Thank you."

Meanwhile, Gary Lineker has doubled down on his comments over the Government's Illegal Immigration Bill, saying that he stands by his tweet and does not fear being suspended by the BBC over the impartiality row. Thanking fans for their "love and support" on Twitter, Gary promised to "continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice".

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