It has led to calls for tougher repercussions for repeat rule breaks

GB News has been found in breach of impartiality rules for the fifth time this year after Ofcom launched an investigation into the channels campaign “Don’t Kill Cash”.

Six separate investigations were initiated after complaints were raised to the regulator, with this case being the first to conclude and concerning an episode of The Live Desk.

The programme had promoted the campaign, which called on viewers to sign a petition for the Government to introduce legislation to protect the status of cash as legal tender and as a widely accepted means of payment in the UK until at least 2050.

Ofcom ruled the programme ‘failed to preserve due impartiality in its coverage of this matter, with only limited references to different perspectives’.

The regulator cited rule 5.4 of the Broadcasting Code which sets out that ‘all broadcasters’ programmes exclude all expressions of the views and opinions of the person providing the service on matters of political or industrial controversy or current public policy’.

The issue was found to be a matter of political debate as the Financial Services and Markets Bill was due to receive Royal Assent four days before GB News launched the campaign, so it was seen as ‘representing an attempt to influence Government policy’.

There are a further five GB News programmes under investigation by the regulators in relation to this campaign, with the outcomes to be published ‘in due course’.  

GB News announced it was “disappointed” by the verdict which it did not agree with.

It wrote in a statement: “We disagree with Ofcom’s assertion that because the campaign was under the GB News banner, it represented the personal or self-interested view of anyone within the company.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. We maintain our campaign was not political and so did not consider it invoked due impartiality rules requiring substantially different views. The campaign received widespread support across the political spectrum.”

Ofcom said it expects GB News ‘to take careful account of this decision in its future programming’.

While commentators have argued that repercussions should be tougher for repeated breaches of Ofcom rules.

Carol Vorderman wrote on X: “Oh dear

Ofcom issue another breach of broadcasting compliance rules

How many times a year must they breach the rules for any meaningful difference to their broadcasting to take place?”

While journalist Alistair Campbell called the regulator “poodles” and said the enforcement action against the channel was “absolutely pathetic”.

GB News Ofcom breaches so far this year

Misleading comments about the Covid-19 vaccine led GB News to break Ofcom rules for the first time in March. Then in May, Ofcom rules were breached for a second time after Dr Naomi Wolf was allowed to promote a Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theory un-challenged.

The show broke the rules after allowing “a serious conspiracy theory without challenge or context”, in which Wolf compared the vaccine rollout to “mass murder” and the actions to that of “doctors in pre-Nazi Germany”.

In September, impartiality rules were found to be broken again when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was interviewed by fellow Tory MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies which failed to ‘represent and give due weight to an appropriately wide range of significant views on a matter of major political controversy’.

An interview with Richard Tice the Reform Party leader led to GB News next breach of impartiality guidelines. He was interviewed by former Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney, however an Ofcom investigation later ‘found Mr Tice presented his views on immigration and asylum policy with insufficient challenge.’

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues

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