GB News Guest Shocks Viewers by Defending Incest and Questioning Birth Defects

GB News viewers were left outraged after writer Charles Amos defended incestuous relationships live on air, claiming, “Individuals should be free to marry and have children with whoever they want”, reported by Surrey Live. During Thursday’s (December 19) afternoon broadcast, hosts Andrew Pierce and Ellie Costello welcomed Amos onto the program to discuss MP Richard Holden’s proposal to ban first-cousin marriages in the UK. Holden argued that children of first cousins face a higher risk of birth defects, and the practice should be prohibited for public health reasons.

Holden introduced his proposal under the 10-minute rule process, which allows a backbench MP to make the case for a new bill in a 10-minute speech in the Commons. However, Charles Amos stirred controversy with his stance. He argued, “I don’t think it is wrong on every level. Individuals should be free to pursue their own good in their own way, and that includes the freedom to marry and have children with whoever they want”, according to the Mirror.

Ellie Costello challenged him, asking, “Would you include siblings in that?” Amos responded bluntly: “I would include siblings in that. If you look at the number of birth defects amongst individuals that are father and daughter or brother and sister, it’s about 57 per cent.”

He continued, “Although you may go, ‘that’s absolutely terrible,’ I moan those individuals wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the marriages that created them. Sure, the birth defects are bad, but it’s better those birth defects exist than not existing at all.”

The comments sparked immediate backlash on social media. Outraged viewers took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their disbelief and disgust. One viewer wrote, “Are you serious with this?” Another added, “Extraordinary that someone is actually defending the right of fathers to marry their daughters on national television.”

A third posted, “Is this guy for real?!” while another viewer said, “This was the most disturbing interview I’ve seen and made me feel sick.” A fifth user added, “Disgusting, vile, disgraceful, disturbing.”

As the heated segment wrapped up, Amos attempted to clarify his stance, stating, “Let me make one thing clear, I believe in an age of consent.” When Andrew Pierce probed, “Where? What age?” Amos avoided answering directly, replying, “I’m not getting into that. I’d write about that in an academic journal article.”

Ellie concluded the interview, saying, “Very interesting there, Charles. Thank you for sharing your point of view with us.” Andrew added, “Controversial point of view, and we welcome controversial points of view on GB News.”

Costello ended the segment with a reminder: “Just to be clear, the chance of having a child with a serious disability is double with a cousin marriage.”