The Prime Minister was not sufficiently challenged during the programme, media regulator found
GB News could now face sanction after the channel was found once again in breach of impartiality rules, this time for failing to properly challenge the Prime Minister during a political forum.
Ofcom has warned the broadcaster that the latest ruling represented ‘a serious and repeated breach’ of impartiality rules meaning the media regulator is now starting the process of considering a statutory sanction against GB News.
The live hour-long People’s Forum: The Prime Minister programme received 547 complaints after it aired in February. It involvedRishi Sunak answering questions from a studio audience about Government policy and performance.
An investigation into the programme by the media regulator concluded that “an appropriately wide range of significant viewpoints were not presented” and “nor was due impartiality preserved through clearly linked and timely programmes”.
Ofcom found that the Prime Minister was given “a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election”. This breached Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code.
The investigation noted that, while some questions from the audience provided challenge and criticism of Government policy, audience members could not challenge Sunak’s responses and the presenter also did not do this “to any meaningful extent”.
Furthermore, Sunak was able to set out future policies his Government planned if re-elected without challenge, while also criticising aspects of Labour’s policies but without the alternative views being given due weight or representation.
Also noted was that GB News failed to include a reference in the show to an agreed future programme which would “present and give due weight to an appropriate wide range of significant views on the matter”.
GB News had received over 20,000 complaints about it since its launch in 2021, which has led to calls for tougher action from Ofcom in regulating the channel. The regulator said it aims to conclude its consideration for sanctions into GB News within 60 working days.
But GB News has hit back at the verdict and said it maintains that the show was in line with the Broadcasting Code.
A spokesman said: “Ofcom’s finding against GB News today is an alarming development in its attempt to silence us by standing in the way of a forum that allows the public to question politicians directly.”
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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