GB News breached impartiality rules during a programme presented by a former Brexit Party MEP, Ofcom has ruled.
During a broadcast on June 16 this year, former MEP Martin Daubney gave his views on immigration and asylum policy while standing in on the channel for Laurence Fox.
Daubney spoke about the controversy regarding small boats crossing the English Channel, and also interviewed the leader of the Reform Party, Richard Tice.
On Monday, UK media regulator Ofcom said the programme did not meet the “heightened impartiality requirements” which apply to programmes discussing “matters of major political controversy and current public policy”.
It said Mr Tice presented his views on the programme “with insufficient challenge” and the “limited alternative views presented in the programme were dismissed”.
“The programme therefore did not include and give due weight to an appropriately wide range of significant views, as required by the Code,” Ofcom said.
“GB News accepted that the content was not compliant with the heightened special impartiality requirements in the Code.”
It added: “We expect GB News to take careful account of this decision in its compliance of future programming.”
Daubney, who was also deputy leader of the Reclaim Party, was standing in for presenter Fox, who has since been dismissed following misogynistic comments he made on air about a female journalist.
Fox made a series of personal remarks about political correspondent Ava Evans, including asking “Who would want to s**g that?”, on the Dan Wootton Tonight programme on September 26.
Fox was sacked by GB News, while an internal investigation into Wootton continues.
Ofcom added that it has “12 further investigations open into GB News, which we are working to conclude as quickly as possible”.
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