British watchdog fines GB News for interview with ex-PM Sunak

LONDON: British media regulator Ofcom said it has imposed a £100,000 (US$129,000) fine on GB News for “breaking due impartiality rules” following an interview with former prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier this year, reported German news agency (dpa).

The media watchdog began an investigation into GB News three days after the airing of a programme on Feb 12 titled “People’s Forum: The Prime Minister”, which saw Sunak answer questions from a studio audience and a presenter.

GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos said the channel is challenging the Ofcom ruling in the courts, which they said is “unnecessary, unfair and unlawful”.

In a statement, Ofcom said: “We 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 breach of Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code.

“Given the seriousness and repeated nature of this breach, Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty of £100,000 on GB News Limited. We have also directed GB News to broadcast a statement of our findings against it, on a date and in a form determined by us.

“GB News is challenging our original breach decision in this case by judicial review, which we are defending. Ofcom will not enforce this sanction decision until those proceedings are concluded.”

The channel previously lost a High Court challenge to temporarily block Ofcom from sanctioning it, with GB News’ lawyers arguing that it would cause “irreparable damage” to its reputation.

In a statement, Frangopoulos called Ofcom’s decision “a direct attack on free speech and journalism in the United Kingdom”.

He said: “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.”

The statement continued: “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.”

He added that the channel decided to be “regulated and we understand our obligations under” the Broadcasting Code, and believes that Ofcom is “obliged by law to uphold freedom of expression and apply its rules fairly and lawfully”.

Frangopoulos said: “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.”