Ofcom has imposed a £100,000 financial penalty on GB News for breaking due impartiality rules, it says.
An investigation by Ofcom found that the live, hour-long current affairs programme, People’s Forum: The Prime Minister, broadcast on 12th February didn’t present an appropriately wide range of significant viewpoints and due impartiality wasn’t preserved through clearly linked and timely programmes.
As a result, the regulator concluded that the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election in this programme, in breach of Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code.
Ofcom says that because of the seriousness and repeated nature of this breach it has imposed a financial penalty of £100,000 on GB News Limited and directed the station to broadcast a statement of the findings against it, on a date and in a form determined by Ofcom.
GB News is challenging the original breach decision by judicial review, which Ofcom is defending, but won’t enforce the sanction decision until those proceedings are concluded.
In a statement issued this morning, GB News CEO Angelos Frangopoulos said: “The announcement by Ofcom to impose sanctions upon GB News in relation to the People’s Forum, is a direct attack on free speech and journalism in the United Kingdom.
“We believe these sanctions are unnecessary, unfair and unlawful.
“The High Court has already granted GB News permission to bring a Judicial Review to challenge Ofcom’s decision that the Programme was in breach of due impartiality requirements.
“The sanction proposed by Ofcom is therefore still subject to that legal challenge.
“The plan to sanction GB News flies in the face of Ofcom’s duty to act fairly, lawfully and proportionately to safeguard free speech, particularly political speech and on matters of public interest.
“We have believed from the very start the People’s Forum was an important piece of public interest programming, and that appropriate steps were taken to ensure due impartiality and compliance with the Broadcasting Code.
“It was designed to allow members of the public to put their own questions directly to leading politicians.
“GB News chooses to be regulated, and we understand our obligations under the Code.
“But equally, Ofcom is obliged by law to uphold freedom of expression and apply its rules fairly and lawfully.
“At the People’s Channel we will continue to fearlessly champion freedom; for our viewers, for our listeners, and for everyone in the United Kingdom. As we have all seen, this is needed more than ever.”
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This story first appeared on radiotoday.co.uk