Dan Wootton leaves GB News to launch independent platform following Ofcom report

TV presenter Dan Wootton has left GB News to launch his own independent platform, he said in a statement.

In a statement, presenter Dan Wootton said he was leaving GB News to set up an independent platform and criticised media regulator Ofcom for its “censorship”.

It comes after Ofcom ruled on Monday a segment on Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News in September, in which actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox made “misogynistic” comments about female journalist Ava Evans, broke broadcasting rules.

Wootton confirmed his platform will be "a brand new daily news and opinion show from later this year that will not be regulated by the Ofcommunist censors."

He described Ofcom's report as "chilling" and something that raises "far bigger issues".

"How can any British broadcaster truly stand for freedom of expression when state goons have the power to decide what you are and are not allowed to say on air?" he said.

"Unlike the freedoms enjoyed in the US thanks to the First Amendment, how can these media outlets ever be anything other than controlled opposition?

“As the epitome of the deep state Liz Truss spoke about last week, the Ofcommunists have once again shown themselves to be a muzzle that bows to the woke mob and only attacks those with whom it ideologically disagrees.

"Post Office investigators, HMRC, the Police: the country is full of organisations that have gone rogue and disobey the directives of ministers and the will of Parliament."

In a note sent to staff by GB News on Tuesday, the broadcaster said: “Dan Wootton joined GB News before its launch and was a part of the first on-air line up.

“Dan is no longer employed by GB News, and we thank him for his contribution and wish him well with his future endeavours.”

The episode in question, which was broadcast on GB News on September 26, received 8,867 complaints with viewers objecting to comments made by Fox about about political correspondent Ms Evans, including asking “who would want to s*** that?”

"We found that Mr Fox’s comments constituted a highly personal attack on Ms Evans and were potentially highly offensive to viewers," Ofcom said.

"They reduced her contribution to a broadcast discussion on mental health - in her professional capacity as a political journalist - to a judgment on whether she, or women like her who publicly expressed their political opinions, were sexually desirable to men.

"As such, we considered that Mr Fox’s comments were degrading and demeaning both to Ms Evans and women generally and were clearly and unambiguously misogynistic."

They added Wootton's reaction did not mitigate the potential for offence but rather "exacerbated it" by "contributing to the narrative in which a woman's value was judged by her physical appearance".

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