News channel removed from the Senedd’s internal television system as it faces several ongoing Ofcom investigations
The Welsh Senedd has removed GB News from the TV systems inside parliament following recent “deliberately offensive” content that was deemed “demeaning to public debate.”
A spokesperson for the presiding officer of the Parliament, Elin Jones, said: “GB News has been removed from the Senedd’s internal television system following a recent broadcast that was deliberately offensive, demeaning to public debate and contrary to our parliament’s values.
“There are now several ongoing Ofcom investigations into the channel. The Commission will discuss the issue at a future meeting, and staff and Members who wish to view GB News will still be able to do so online in the Senedd.”
There is no reference to a specific show, however the rightwing news channel recently fired Laurence Fox after he made a vulgar and sexist rant about the Politics Joe presenter Ava Evans, where he discussed whether he would ‘shag’ the female journalist.
The programmes host Dan Wootton was suspended as he failed to challenge Fox, and instead laughed. Another GB News presenter, Calvin Robinson, was also suspended for continuing to defend Fox and his misogynistic comments.
GB News presenter Nigel Farage hit out at the move to ban the show in Welsh Parliament, calling the Welsh Labour administration “totalitarian in their thinking and behaviour”. This is despite the decision being made by the Senedd Commission, not the Labour administration.
The Welsh Conservative Leader of the opposition Andrew RT Davies, who is also a regular GB News host, hit out at the decision, calling it “disgraceful” and “censorship”. He is currently under investigation by the standards commission over untrue and misleading comments he made on GB News earlier this year about child migrants.
Elin Jones, Welsh politician of Plaid Cymru, responded with a quote from Laurence Fox on GB News, when he said, “show me a single, self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman… ever…Who’d want to shag that?”
Jones asked: “Do you seriously support a channel that allows a woman to be talked about unchallenged as below to continue to be broadcast on our Senedd internal system?”
Ofcom currently has 12 active investigations into GB News.
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues
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