Five episodes of GB News programmes that were presented by Tory MPs have been found by Ofcom to have breached impartiality rules.
The watchdog’s probe involved two shows presented by former House of Commons leader Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, and three jointly hosted by former pensions secretary Esther McVey and her husband – backbencher Philip Davies.
Ofcom said: “We 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.”
The media watchdog said that under the Broadcasting Code, news must be presented with due impartiality and “a politician cannot be a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, there is editorial justification”.
It said there was no exceptional justification in the five cases they investigated and the news was “therefore not presented with due impartiality”.
It went on: “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.
Esther McVey and Philip Davies. Pic: PA
“In our view, the use of politicians to present the news risks undermining the integrity and credibility of regulated broadcast news.”
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