Brillo will no doubt want to take the chance to explain recent developments…

GB News has just been informed of the inevitable: Andrew Neil has resigned as chairman and will step down as a presenter.

“This is to let you know that the board has accepted Andrew Neil’s resignation as chairman today and agreed that he will step down as a presenter of GB News. He will continue to appear as a twice-weekly commentator, starting tonight on Nigel’s show.

Andrew said he is sorry to leave but that after reflection during the summer he feels it’s time to reduce his many commitments.

I know many of you will feel incredibly disappointed by this, as I do. Andrew joined GB News 12 months ago and signed a multi-year contract so we hoped he’d stay longer.

Andrew shared our vision for GB News. He knew instinctively that many Brits, especially beyond London, were crying out for a trusted, accurate news channel that stands for tolerance, diversity, free speech, and fair debate.

That mission, enshrined in our Editorial Charter, has not changed and never will.

Andrew helped set our tone, our purpose, even our launch date. He has been integral to every major programming and hiring decision.
In his absence from the newsroom, I’ve watched in awe as you have pulled GB News together. As I said in my note to you last Monday, we’re moving at warp speed: three new shows last week, two more this week, national radio, and more great things in the pipeline.

Again, it’s thanks to you, who have all worked so hard over the summer, that we are unrecognisable from launch: brighter, stronger, and more self-assured in every way.

I’d like to thank Colin Brazier in particular for hosting Andrew’s programme so brilliantly, proving night after night that he is one of the finest journalists of his generation.

We’re already making our mark as a cheerful, fearless, and open-minded voice that dares to stand up for Britons who simply want to hear all sides, including theirs, in the national conversation. We made a promise to them and it’s one we will keep.”

Interesting passive aggressive line: “Andrew joined GB News 12 months ago and signed a multi-year contract so we hoped he’d stay longer.”

Fans of Andrew Neil will be delighted to hear he’s returning to screens this Thursday following his prolonged summer holiday. Unfortunately for GB News he’ll be appearing on Question Time, according to host, Fiona Bruce. They pre-record Question Time at 8 pm, which would clash with the eponymous Andrew Neil show on his own channel if he were appearing. Still no sign of any return to his own Paddington Studios…

SNP MP Peter Grant has apologised to Andrew Neil for claiming that “murdering babies wasn’t on the Nazi manifesto” in response to Andrew’s tweet that “accusations of fascism are bandied about today like confetti”.

In the now-deleted tweet, Grant wrote that “Not until they’d [the Nazis] been in power several years […] did they show their true colours.” Guido will let his readers decide what Grant was trying to imply…

In his apology, Grant wrote:

“I want to apologise unreservedly for a highly insensitive tweet I posted. While I strongly believe we must always be vigilant to the seeds of racism, antisemitism and fascism, I deeply regret how I made that point and I have deleted the tweet”. 

Andrew has accepted the apology and now considers the matter closed…

Peter’s colleague Anne McLaughlin, however, is yet to show any contrition for claiming that real fascism “didn’t start off talking about murdering children”, adding “NEVER regret leaving it too late to speak out”. A quick google would show Anne that Hitler wrote openly about the need to “exterminate (…) the international poisoners of our people” as early as 1925, long before he ascended to power”… 

Andrew Neil interviewed Extinction Rebellion‘s dangerously eccentric founder Roger Hallam last night. Hallam was released last year after spending 4 weeks in jail at Her Majesty’s pleasure, where his main complaint appears to be that there were no vegan menu options. It went as you might expect. Worth watching…

The overzealous social media team at Vodafone bent to non-existent pressure from bad-faith lefties and jumped onto the GB News outrage train. They tweeted that “advertising [with GB News] has been placed without our permission” and that they’ll be “addressing this”. If you’re thinking that it would be insane to revise ad strategies because one woke account with 356 followers threatened to change phone providers, then you would be right… 

Hi Steve, We proactively manage the placement of our advertising in appropriate & safe environments. For new publications, we wait a few months before deciding to advertise with them. In this instance our advertising has been placed without our permission. We're addressing this.

— Vodafone UK (@VodafoneUK) June 16, 2021

Sources at Vodafone have confirmed to Guido they have no intention of boycotting GB News and that a social media person is making decisions way above their station. This isn’t the first time a social media team has gone rogue… 

Last year Co-op made an embarrassing gaffe, after a social media intern tweeted that the Co-op would no longer be advertising with The Spectator, prompting a huge backlash from media veteran Andrew Neil. It seems like Co-op have learnt from their mistakes tweeting today that they will not “affect the editorial independence of publications or channels”.

Today, Guido also learnt that Octopus Energy are not in fact boycotting GB News, despite claims to the contrary. An email exchange with the company confirmed that Octopus Energy are not “pulling sponsorship” – they are instead waiting to see the success of the programme before buying more advertisements. Seems fair… 

Currently all of the advertising on GB News is programmatically automated – in so much as advertisers go to media buyers and specify a quantity and type of audience at a given price – rather than channel specific. GB News’s advertising sales have been outsourced to Sky Media, the adverts are placed across the130 channels Sky carries during breaks. So when they say adverts were not specifically authorised to appear on a channel, it is true.

Guido suspects advertisers are going to try to avoid provoking viewers or bad faith left-wing campaigners. Savvy advertisers will buy the audience on merit, not on the politics.