Five GB News programmes presented by politicians have broken Ofcom‘s due impartiality rules.
The regulator said on Monday that programmes presented by Conservative MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies were in breach of the Broadcasting Code.
The code states: “No politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified. In that case, the political allegiance of that person must be made clear to the audience.”
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Ofcom said none of the five programmes had “exceptional justification” for the politicians acting in a newsreader or reporter role “in sequences which clearly constituted news”.
The regulator said GB News is “on notice” that further breaches of due impartiality rules “may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction”.
The programmes concerned, which all aired in May and June 2023, were: two episodes of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation, two episodes of Friday Morning with Esther and Phil, and one episode of Saturday Morning with Esther and Phil.
All five programmes contained a mixture of news and current affairs content, which Ofcom said is acceptable as long as steps are taken to ensure any politician acting as a presenter does not act as a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter within the broadcast.
Ofcom has previously said that programmes or sections of programmes may be classified as news, rather than current affairs which politicians are allowed to present, if they include features such as a newsreader presenting directly to the audience, a running order or list of stories, often in short packages, the use of reporters or correspondents to deliver packages or live reports, or a mixture of video and reporter items.
A GB News spokesperson said it is “deeply concerned” by Ofcom’s decision and “will raise this directly with the regulator in the strongest possible terms”.
They continued: “Ofcom is obliged by law to promote free speech and media plurality, and to ensure that alternative voices are heard.
“Its latest decisions, in some cases a year after the programme aired, contravene those duties.
“Extraordinarily, Ofcom has determined that a programme which it acknowledges was impartial and lacking in any expression of opinion, still somehow breaches its impartiality rules just because an imaginary viewer might think otherwise.
“Ofcom has now arbitrarily changed the test so that it is no longer ‘Was it impartial?’ but ‘Could someone think it might not be?’
“This is a chilling development for all broadcasters, for freedom of speech, and for everyone in the United Kingdom.”
The five GB News programmes in breach
One of the occasions, on 9 May, saw Rees-Mogg read out breaking news about the verdict in a civil trial against former US president Donald Trump, which found that he had sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll and later defamed her on social media site Truth Social.
On 12 May McVey and Davies reported “on a number of topical and developing news stories”, Ofcom said, including rail strikes and Prince Harry’s hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers.
The regulator said in its view “these reports had characteristics which contributed to them being classified as news content” including the way they were trailed by the presenters at the start of the programme and the fact the MPs interviewed a reporter via live link from outside the Royal Courts of Justice.
On 13 May, McVey and Davies again acted “as newsreaders and news interviewers” for example in an interview with London mayoral candidate for the Reform party Howard Cox who was at the scene of an anti-ULEZ demonstration, Ofcom said.
The regulator said this was a news report, not current affairs, because McVey’s introduction to the segment indicated that it was a developing news story and Cox provided up-to-date information about the demonstration to viewers live from the event. Ofcom said: “It covered a topical and developing news story, providing the audience with an at the scene update on a large demonstration, covering key information about the purpose, size, timing and location of the demonstration.”
In the fourth programme, on 13 June, Rees-Mogg gave an update on an ongoing news story, the murder of three people who were stabbed to death in Nottingham, by interviewing GB News home and security correspondent Mark White who was reporting live from the scene. Ofcom said their exchange was “clearly news”.
The fifth programme, on 23 June, saw McVey and Davies interrupt a studio discussion about the Bank of England interest rate rise to report that a doctors’ strike had been announced. Ofcom said this coverage of breaking news, accompanied by on-screen graphics, meant this was “an example of news content”.
They also went live to Downing Street to speak to GB News economics and business editor Liam Halligan to discuss interest rates and get “up to the minute information on a significant meeting between the Chancellor and representatives of the banks”, which Ofcom said was classed as a news report.
A sixth programme, a separate episode of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation, did not warrant investigation because the Conservative MP was “used as an eye-witness, in situ news reporter during an unforeseen security incident at Buckingham Palace” as he was already on the scene. Ofcom said this provided GB News with sufficient “exceptional editorial justification”.
McVey and Davies left GB News in November after McVey joined Rishi Sunak’s cabinet but Rees-Mogg continues to present on the channel. Former Brexit Party and UKIP leader Nigel Farage and former Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson, now Reform UK’s first MP, are the channel’s two other current politician presenters.
One further investigation under the same due impartiality rules around politicians acting as presenters is currently underway in relation to a broadcast of Farage on 17 January.
Ofcom said earlier this month it had “significant concerns about GB News’ editorial control of its live output” and requested a meeting with the broadcaster following a ruling that a discussion between Dan Wootton and Laurence Fox featuring “unambiguously misogynistic” comments about a female journalist breached the harm and offence section of the Broadcasting Code.
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