GB News break rules on Politicians acting as news presenters

Five programmes on GB news featuring politicians acting as news presenters broke broadcasting due impartiality rules, Ofcom has ruled.

A series of investigations by the television watchdog found that two episodes of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation, two episodes of Friday Morning with Esther and Phil, and one episode of Saturday Morning with Esther and Phil, broadcast during May and June 2023, failed to comply with Rules 5.1 and 5.3 of the Broadcasting Code.

Ofcom said: “All five programmes in question contained a mix of news and current affairs content. We found that host politicians acted as newsreaders, news interviewers or news reporters in sequences which clearly constituted news – including reporting breaking news events – without exceptional justification. News was, therefore, not presented with due impartiality.

“Politicians have an inherently partial role in society and news content presented by them is likely to be viewed by audiences in light of that perceived bias. In our view, the use of politicians to present the news risks undermining the integrity and credibility of regulated broadcast news. We therefore considered it was necessary and proportionate to find a breach of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 in these circumstances.”

As a result of these breaches, GB News has been put on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction.