Five episodes of GB News programmes that were presented by Tory MPs were found by Ofcom to have broken broadcasting rules.

By Katie Harris, Political Reporter

11:02, Mon, Mar 18, 2024 | UPDATED: 11:10, Mon, Mar 18, 2024

Five episodes of GB News found to have broken Ofcom rules

Five episodes of GB News shows presented by Tory MPs have been found to have broken Ofcom's broadcasting rules.

The media watchdog's probe involved shows presented by former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Minister for Common Sense Esther McVey, and 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 watchdog said that because the 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".

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.

"In our view, the use of politicians to present the news risks undermining the integrity and credibility of regulated broadcast news."

The watchdog added that the channel was "on notice" following the breaches.

It said: "We are clear, however, that GB News is put on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction."

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