GB News says it has won a legal battle against Ofcom after the regulator pursued the broadcaster for a 53-second segment of Jacob Rees-Mogg reading out a US court decision on Donald Trump. Ofcom found that it “was in breach of Rule 5.3 of the Code because Jacob Rees-Mogg had presented news in the sequence in question.” GB argued at the time that the application of the rule was too narrow and this was a current affairs, not a news programme – and neither did Rees-Mogg’s words make it one…
The High Court has found today that Ofcom misapplied that rule because it only applies to “news programmes” and there is “no plausibly contended justification” to finding GB News in breach of the rules. The court interestingly said Ofcom’s interpretation of the rules was ‘novel’ and had no substantial precedent in regulation. The regulator will not appeal and has been ordered to pay GB’s legal costs…
GB News CEO Angelos Frangopoulos says: “We are proud that we were the only media company prepared to have the courage of our convictions. I call on the Government and Parliament to consider the seriousness of this fundamental failure by Ofcom.” An embarrassment for the two-tier regulator just as it is ramping up to its new brief of regulating the entire internet…
UPDATE: An Ofcom spokesperson says:
“We accept the Court’s guidance on this important aspect of due impartiality in broadcast news and the clarity set out in its Judgment. We will now review and consult on proposed changes to the Broadcasting Code to restrict politicians from presenting news in any type of programme to ensure this is clear for all broadcasters.”
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”