Five episodes of GB News programmes presented by Tory MPs broke Ofcom rules

A further episode of Sir Jacob’s State Of The Nation was not investigated because it did not raise issues under the rules, according to Ofcom.

Married couple Ms McVey and Mr Davies are no longer part of the GB News line-up, and last hosted programmes on the channel last year.

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 media 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.”

Ofcom also said that it is putting GB News put on notice that any repeated breaches of the same rules “may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction”.

This is the first time they broke these rules, according to the watchdog.

GB News has been contacted for comment.

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