Spineless Ofcom just let GB News off the hook over Tory MPs moonlighting as journalists

Ofcom has found that a GB News show presented by two Tory MPs breached its impartiality rules. However, the regulator only scolded the far-right media outlet over it not airing differing views. Ofcom failed to rule against the fact that two sitting Conservative MPs were posing as journalists interviewing a sitting Conservative minister.

Ofcom rules GB News has been very naughty

As Ofcom tweeted:

Following an investigation, we have found an episode of Good Morning with Esther and Phil on GB News, broke our due impartiality rules.

This episode featured a pre-recorded interview with the Chancellor, ahead of the spring budget.

Read for more: https://t.co/KPWNqYoyFB pic.twitter.com/9aBdkLsV2u

— Ofcom (@Ofcom) September 18, 2023

The regulator’s investigation concerned the GB News show Saturday Morning with Esther and Phil. It’s presented by Tory MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies. On 11 March, they interviewed chancellor Jeremy Hunt. The discussion was around the Spring Budget and economic and fiscal policies.

Ofcom noted:

that in discussing these matters, the programme was overwhelmingly reflective of the viewpoints of different strands of opinion within the Conservative Party.

There were only very limited references to wider perspectives on UK economic and fiscal policy in the context of the forthcoming budget…

In addition, there were no clear, editorial linkages made in this programme to any other content which might have contained these views.

That is: Tories were interviewing a Tory, and offering no alternative views.

Ofcom said this breached its code around:

due weight to an appropriately wide range of significant views on a matter of major political controversy and current public policy within this programme, in breach of Rules 5.11 and 5.12.

‘Flagrantly breaching impartiality rules’

People on X (formerly known as Twitter) had mixed reactions. One person pointed out that Ofcom has been rather busy dealing with GB News:

Third breach of broadcasting rules by GB News, with six investigations ongoing. https://t.co/Q8BI8Ki4eC

— Adam Parsons (@adamparsons) September 18, 2023

Someone else thought Ofcom had been too slow to act:

Ofcom have had to be dragged kicking and screaming to apply their own rules to GB News. They tried ignoring it as much as possible. https://t.co/22ebJSlPka

— David Puckridge 💙 (@DavidPuckridge) September 18, 2023

Meanwhile, Des Freedman of the Media Reform Coalition pointed out that part of GB News‘s problem wasn’t just isolated to it:

Read anything by Mike Berry of @CardiffJomec and you'll see that media coverage of the economy routinely marginalises voices that offer radical alternatives to UK economic policy. It's a bigger problem than @GBNEWS but impartiality rules don't capture this https://t.co/1wYEi0fjPr

— Des Freedman (@lazebnic) September 18, 2023

That said, many people on X welcomed Ofcom’s decision:

At long last, @ofcom has stopped sitting on its hands. 6 months after transmission, but finally some recognition that GB News is flagrantly breaching impartiality rules. https://t.co/HDBvHxdrca

— Steven Barnett (@stevenjbarnett) September 18, 2023

Took them a while but @Ofcom got there in the end….. https://t.co/lwOSsGp87B

— JOHN NICOLSON 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 (@MrJohnNicolson) September 18, 2023

However, there is a problem with Ofcom’s decision. Some people thought it was over the fact that two Tory MPs were interviewing another Tory MP. Dr Matt Walsh of the government-backed media regulator IMPRESS clearly didn’t read the Ofcom ruling properly before posting on X:

It seems that after all Ofcom does think that having two Conservative MPs interviewing a Conservative Chancellor might not be impartial. https://t.co/ckaZjAXXox

— Dr Matt Walsh (@Matt_Walsh) September 18, 2023

He’s wrong – because Ofcom specifically didn’t rule against GB News over the Tory MP presenter issue. It noted:

The content presented on this day by Ms McVey and Mr Davies constituted current affairs. We therefore considered that Rule 5.3 of the Code, which relates to politicians presenting news programmes, was not engaged in this particular case.

So, on a technicality over what constitutes “news” and what constitutes “current affairs”, GB News got away with it. Ofcom did say that it’s got an “expert research agency” doing “qualitative research” on the MPs posing as journalists issue. In other words, someone’s probably running an opinion poll somewhere.

Ofcom: as mighty as a drain fly

The problem here isn’t the fact GB News is a screeching, far-right foghorn amplifier. Every media outlet in the UK has some sort of political bias. This includes broadcast media, even though this is subject to statutory regulation, where print/digital media isn’t. C4 News, for example, is quite openly centre left in its editorial stance.

At the Canary we’ve never claimed to be impartial. We’re varying shades of left wing – and openly shout about it. The Sun and Daily Mail are openly racist, homophobic, right-wing shitrags. However, they and we are private entities, and that’s our right in the UK. The one exception to all this is the BBC, as it’s publicly funded – even if, as the Canary has consistently documented, it repeatedly fails to act impartially of the state.

However, while GB News can present its programming with whatever ideological stand point it wishes, it should not be allowing sitting politicians to do it. It is effectively giving MPs a platform to campaign on, without any of the restrictions of campaigning. GB News is letting the Tories dress party political broadcasting up as journalism – when it is nothing more than thinly-veiled propaganda for their party.

This is the part that’s unacceptable. The UK’s democracy is already a shambolic farce, which has become increasingly worse in recent years. Allowing sitting MPs to present news programmes is the thin end of the wedge. Ofcom, with all the might of a drain fly, is failing to act quickly enough to stop this practice before even more damage is done.

Feature image via GB News – YouTube