British media regulator Ofcom has ruled that the right-leaning TV network GB News violated impartiality requirements by airing an interview with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt that was conducted solely by two fellow Conservative MPs. This marks the third time since launching in June 2021 that GB News, which is backed by hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, has been found to have breached broadcasting rules relating to impartiality.
The ruling reflects growing scrutiny and concern over the state of media impartiality in the UK, as the worrying trend rises of politicians and partisan figures hosting news and current affairs programs. Ofcom is currently probing separate allegations of impartiality breaches by both GB News and broadcaster TalkTV, which is owned by conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
In its official ruling, Ofcom found that a March episode of a GB News program hosted by married Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies was overwhelmingly reflective of and aligned with the views and positioning of the Conservative Party. During the program, Davies and McVey conducted a pre-recorded interview with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, focused on discussing and promoting the government’s approach to critical economic and fiscal policies ahead of the Spring Budget.
While the regulator noted that it is acceptable for politicians to act as presenters of television programs under the rules, it emphasized the program format in question was deemed current affairs rather than straight news. And under the codes, current affairs programs have specific requirements to feature and represent a wide and diverse range of perspectives, especially on issues of political controversy and public policy importance.
Ofcom determined that the program hosted by McVey and Davies included only “very limited” references to alternate views outside of the Conservative party’s positions on UK economic and fiscal policy issues. However, the regulator concluded that the breaches were not sufficiently serious, repeated, deliberate or reckless to warrant imposing any formal statutory sanctions on the network.
The ruling comes as Ofcom is close to finalizing extensive research it has conducted to gauge current audience attitudes in the UK towards programs that prominently feature elected politicians as hosts or presenters.
For its part, GB News expressed disappointment with Ofcom’s ruling, stating that it believes the regulator’s definition and standards for “due impartiality” remain frustratingly imprecise. However, it also reiterated that it takes compliance issues seriously, and maintains that the program in question made efforts to embrace and reflect this.
This marks the third time GB News has been found to violate impartiality rules since it first launched. And the network still faces an additional six separate pending investigations over potential further breaches, including programs hosted by McVey, Davies and former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg.
