Watch the remarkable clash on GB News involving Martin Daubney and his guest, Professor Jonathan Portes over new figures suggesting benefits are being claimed by over one million migrants.
Portes accused Martin and his guest, Rob Bates from the Centre for Migration Control of pedalling “fake news”.
He said on the People’s Channel: “I think your viewers ought to be outraged that GB News continues to pedal fake news.
“The headline you mention, a large proportion of these people are not foreign nationals. They’re British. They’ve been here long enough to claim citizenship.”
Watch the full clash above
GB NEWS
An exasperated Martin swooped in to argue: “They were born overseas. It says foreign nationals. They’ve become British citizens, that’s when they get the benefits. There’s nothing fake news about it. Stick to the facts.”
Portes argued: “Are you saying that somebody who has come here, worked, been here 15-20 years and acquired citizenship are foreign nationals?”
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Martin took issue with his guest Rob Bates being called a 'clown'
GB NEWS
“I’m saying they were born overseas, which was what this data shows”, said Martin.
Bates said Portes had “misunderstood the data”, accusing him of talking “absolute nonsense”.
Portes angrily hit back, saying the data comes from the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) and DWP (Department of Work and Pensions), which he “used to be responsible” for.
“Let me be clear. I know where the data comes from. I used to be responsible for this data - it records nationality at the time of registration.”
Martin Daubney clashed with Jonathan Portes on GB News
GB NEWS
He then hit out at Bates, branding him a “clown” who works for a “faux think tank”.
“There’s no need to be insulting”, Martin angrily hit back. “There’s no need to be insulting. We don’t do that to you. Treat them with respect and stick to the data. Don’t be rude.”
Portes insisted he was sticking to the data, saying he had it open in front of him and it “cannot be used as a proxy for nationality”.
“It’s very regrettable Rob hasn’t done his homework before coming on this programme and he doesn’t understand the data”, he continued.
Martin responded: “Jonathan, are you going to answer the question about this story or are you going to go through every single thing you decide is factually incorrect?
“You’ve already called one of my guests a clown, now you’re going off about something on Twitter. Answer the question about today’s data.”
Portes then said he was trying to have a “serious conversation”, which Martin angrily refuted.
“You’re not trying to have a serious conversation”, he said. “You’ve come on national television and called one of my guests a clown. That is not the basis for a serious conversation.”
It comes after new figures from the DWP showed more than £7.5bn is being spent on universal credit.
Households with at least one foreign national claimant received over £7.5bn in benefits in 2023.
