So much for platforming views outside of the Westminster bubble...
Right-wing channel GB News has platformed a number of Tory and Reform candidates, councillors, and activists under the pretence of being members of the public, it has been revealed.
The revelations were made following an investigation by Byline Times, which found that shows had platformed individuals tied to the right-wing parties without informing viewers of their political links.
One of the shows, called the ‘People’s Panel’, hosted by Camilla Tominey, which vowed to share the views of those outside of the ‘Westminster bubble’, had instead become a platform for Tory councillors and Reform parliamentary candidates.
Byline reports: “In one episode, shot in Birmingham on 15 January, interviewer Olivia Utley introduces a young guest, “Jay”, or Jay Chan, described by Utley as “a student” and by himself as “a young student and patriot”.
“But Byline Times has found that between August 2022 and May 2023, Chan was social media manager and graphic designer for Birmingham Young Conservatives, as well as having been a campaigner for ‘Liz [Truss] for Leader’.”
On the same episode, presenter Olivia Utley interviewed “Mark”, a “business owner in Birmingham”. The following year Mark Hoath, the businessman in question, would go on to stand as the Reform candidate for Sutton Coldfield.
So much for the People’s Panel being outside of the Westminster bubble.
And it’s not just a few instances. According to Byline, the platforming of right-wing election candidates as normal members of the public is a regular feature.
In January 2025, Presenter Patrick Christys interviewed Kieran Mishchuk as an unnamed local man. He failed to inform viewers that he was in fact Reform’s 18-year-old councillor for Milton Regis on Swale Borough Council.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.