GB News faces four new Ofcom investigations over impartiality rules
Ofcom has opened four new investigations into GB News programmes over potential breaches of its impartiality rules.
The media watchdog said it is looking at three of the channel's shows, including an episode of former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg's State of the Nation.
It will try to determine whether a rule against politicians acting as newsreaders, interviewers or reporters, "unless exceptionally it is editorially justified", was broken.
Esther McVey and Philip Davies, Conservative MPs for Tatton and Shipley respectively, are also the subjects of investigation over two episodes of their show on the channel.
Meanwhile an episode of actor turned Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox's show is also being investigated over a section of the Broadcasting Code requiring impartiality on major political and industrial matters.
Sir Jacob’s show, which aired on June 13 and covered a stabbing incident in Nottingham which is being investigated over the "politicians and presenters" rule, Ofcom said.
An episode of Friday Morning with Esther and Phil, which aired on May 12 - including discussions on a range of issues including a teenager being sentenced for terror offences - is also being probed over the same rule.
Meanwhile an episode of Saturday Morning with Esther and Phil, which aired the following day, is being investigated over a rule requiring news, in whatever form, to be presented with due impartiality.
The show featured an interview with Reform UK Party London Mayoral Election candidate Howard Fox - who was shown speaking from an anti-Ultra Low Emission Zone demonstration.
Finally, the regulator is investigating and episode of the Laurence Fox show, which aired on June 16.
In Fox's absence it was guest presented by commentator, journalist and former MEP Martin Daubney.
On the show he discussed immigration and asylum policy and interviewed Richard Tice, the leader of political party Reform UK.
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Ofcom said it was looking into whether due impartiality was preserved on "matters of major political or industrial controversy, or those relating to current public policy", and that an "appropriately wide range of significant views are included and given due weight".
The investigations come months after Adam Baxter, director of broadcasting standards at Ofcom, said that the watchdog will be looking at GB News to see if the broadcaster is “behaving itself” following the channel breaching its broadcasting code with Covid claims for the second time.
In July, Ofcom launched a new broadcast standards investigation into an episode of Sir Jacob’s State Of The Nation show which addressed a court case involving Donald Trump, after it received 40 complaints objecting to the MP for North East Somerset acting as a newsreader.
Similarly in the same month, the media watchdog launched an investigation into GB News over a campaign which calls on the Government to introduce laws to “protect the status of cash”, which under its rules excludes broadcasters from expressing views on “political and industrial controversy or current public policy”.