Following Guto Harri’s surprise decision to take the knee live on air (and a subsequent social media storm), GB News tweeted:

“GB News stands four square against racism in all its forms. We do not have a company line on taking the knee. Some of our guests have been in favour, some against. All are anti-racist. We have editorial standards that all GB News journalists uphold.

We let both sides of the argument down by oversimplifying a very complex issue.”

If you’re confused, reading the channel’s actual editorial charter won’t help much: its first point is that they maintain “the independence of [their] journalism“, and they stand for “the right of every individual to form and share their views.” If that’s true, Guido’s not sure how or why Guto’s kneeling breaches their standards. This morning Isabel Webster has taken Guto’s place pairing on the the show with Mercy Muroki. Guido understands that Guto hasn’t been “officially” fired – yet. No one has been able to tell us if, or when, he’ll be back on air…

A month into broadcasting, and despite notable tech improvements, GB News are still suffering from teething problems. Guido’s said it before – television is hard. Notable absences from a few star presenters certainly hasn’t helped: Brillo’s gone on a long holiday, and now Alastair Stewart has broken his hip. Which will make bending and kneeling more difficult…

Following all the technical hiccups and poor ratings, Guido hears that the channel is planning a relaunch in September. Apparently, the top priority will be to switch up the presenter pairings to try and create better on-air chemistry  – so far, the feeling is some of the teams just aren’t working. A new show is also in the works, although details are still in the air. With recess coming up, they might use the silly season downtime to have a rethink. Presumably Brillo’s holiday will end around the same time…