Ofcom has officially discontinued all remaining impartiality investigations into TV and radio programmes hosted by politicians, following a recent High Court ruling that overturned its decision against Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s GB News show.
The media regulator had previously ruled that Sir Jacob’s programme breached its impartiality code, but a judge found this decision unlawful.
In light of this, Ofcom has now abandoned six ongoing probes, including investigations into Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on GB News, Foreign Secretary David Lammy on LBC, and former Conservative minister Jake Berry on TalkTV and Local TV.
Other dropped cases include shows hosted by ex-Brexit Party MEP Alex Phillips and former Reform UK deputy leader David Bull.
Last week, Ofcom also withdrew past rulings against GB News programmes hosted by Conservative MP Esther McVey and her husband, former MP Philip Davies.
GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos welcomed the decision, stating: “Since the recent landmark High Court ruling finding that Ofcom acted unlawfully, a total of 11 cases against GB News and other UK broadcasters have now either been quashed, unwound, or abandoned.” He added that the network remains committed to defending its presenters’ freedom of speech.
Following the ruling, Ofcom announced plans to review its broadcasting code, particularly the rule prohibiting politicians from acting as newsreaders, interviewers, or reporters in news programmes unless there is an exceptional editorial justification.
However, politicians are currently allowed to host current affairs shows.
New Investigation Into GB News Over LGBT Comments
While Ofcom has dropped its impartiality investigations, it has launched a new probe into comments made by GB News presenter Josh Howie about the LGBT community during an episode of Headliners on January 22.
Howie, while discussing a US bishop’s sermon, appeared to suggest a link between the LGBT community and paedophilia.
He later defended his remarks, claiming they were part of a comedy segment satirizing paedophilia in the church.
Ofcom received 1,382 direct complaints, while advocacy group The Good Law Project submitted an additional 71,851 complaints.
The regulator is now assessing whether the broadcast violated its rule requiring that potentially offensive material must be justified by context.
Frangopoulos defended GB News, stating he does “not believe there was a breach of the rules” in the programme. The outcome of the investigation remains pending.
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