The segment was sharp. The exchange was sharper. What started as a routine interview cracked open mid-sentence, and the tension didn’t simmer — it surged. Susanna Reid didn’t hold back. Nadine Dorries didn’t step down. And somewhere in that clash, the broadcast stopped being polite and started feeling like something else entirely: raw, unscripted, and impossible to ignore

Susanna Reid clashed with Nadine Dorries on today’s edition of Good Morning over the former Tory Minister’s decision to stand on stage with Lucy Connolly. The broadcaster interviewed the Liverpool-born former minister, about the incident which occurred at the Reform Party conference.

Connolly was jailed for inciting racial hatred in the aftermath of the Southport terror attack. The wife of Conservative councillor Raymond Connolly, had posted on X on the day of the murder of three children by Axel Rudakubana in Southport: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.” She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing “threatening or abusive” written material on X and was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court in October last year.

Connolly served 10 months of the 31 month sentence and appeared at the Reform Party conference last month, where she was introduced on stage as “Britain’s favourite political prisoner”. Broadcaster Susanna grilled Ms Dorries, who defected to Reform last month, about the decision, as the anchor said: “You were behind the Online Safety Act.

“It didn’t give you any sort of shiver that somebody is on the stage addressing your new party’s conference, who was convicted of inciting hatred online.”

Ms Dorries tried to steer the subject onto the Online Safety Bill, as she said: “”In the case of Lucy Connolly, if you want to go into that, we can, but I think we’ll use up all our time. Let’s just put that aside and discuss the Online Safety Bill.”

Ed Balls stepped in and pointed out Connolly pleaded guilty to the charge. He added: “I don’t think you should brush off people who have been convicted in courts of law for inciting racial hatred.”

Me Dorries responded, as she claimed: “I don’t brush off people who have been indicted in courts of law, but what we have seen are people who, there was a whole issue around the time, this was a long time ago now, of two-tier policing. Lucy Connolly was made an example of, I think the time she spent in prison was extraordinarily long for what she’d done, the tweet she’d deleted.

“I think it’s unfair she was singled out in that way. There was plenty of stuff on social media in that day.”

Mr Balls said: “You used to be a cabinet minister in the party of law and order.” Susanna stepped in and added: “You’re happy to be on the stage where there is a convicted criminal.”

Ms Dorries said: “If we’re going to put somebody into prison for putting a tweet out, which she was convicted for inciting racial hatred.

“What I want to see is equality, fairness and meritocracy. What I don’t want to see is individuals targeted. I don’t want to see teams of thought police knocking on people’s doors. I don’t want to see young mothers as the person who is chosen to be put in prison. I’d like everybody who put out tweets on that day, who incited racial hatred, to be behind bars but that isn’t the case.”

Connolly’s sentence has been criticised as being too harsh, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended it earlier this year. The Prime Minister was asked in May about Connolly’s case after her Court of Appeal application against her jail term was dismissed.

Asked during Prime Minister’s Questions whether her imprisonment was an “efficient or fair use” of prison, Sir Keir said: “Sentencing is a matter for our courts, and I celebrate the fact that we have independent courts in this country.

“I am strongly in favour of free speech, we’ve had free speech in this country for a very long time and we protect it fiercely.

“But I am equally against incitement to violence against other people. I will always support the action taken by our police and courts to keep our streets and people safe.” Connolly’s post was viewed 310,000 times in three-and-a-half hours before she deleted it.