Nigel Farage was embroiled in a tense row with former BBC current affairs producer John Mair on Ofcom’s latest ruling on The People’s Channel.
The GB News star was keen for answers as to why the media regulator came to the conclusion it did.
It ruled that the People’s Forum: The Prime Minister, which saw Rishi Sunak take questions from the audience during a live hour-long programme on February 12, broke broadcasting due impartiality rules.
Speaking on GB News, Mair said the People’s Channel has been on Ofcom’s “naughty step” and has now taken it too far.
Nigel Farage clashed with John Mair on GB News
GB NEWS
“I cannot for the life of me see what was wrong with that event with Rishi Sunak”, said Farage.
“We’re inviting all the other party leaders to do the same thing.”
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Mair responded: “You have fallen off the naughty step. You have been invited to play a football game but you currently only play rugby.”
Farage hit back: “I’m asking you a question. What was wrong with that People’s Forum? He was asked some extremely tough questions, what did we do wrong?”
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The former BBC producer insisted due impartiality was not followed as it was a group of “irate” audience members pressing the prime minister.
“Poor old Rishi probably didn’t handle it well. Have you had one for Keir Starmer or the Lib Dems?”, he asked.
The audience for the People's Forum was independently selectedGB News
The Ofcom ruling against GB News proved to be a point of contention
GB NEWS
“Yes, they have all been invited”, Farage hit back. “They were all invited to come and do the exact same format.
“I would have thought it was a good, fair format with a genuinely neutral audience.”
Ofcom said GB News should have taken “additional steps to mitigate” risks because of the “very high compliance” needed.
“We consider that the Prime Minister had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK general election,” the media watchdog said.
“We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News.
In a statement, GB News said: “Ofcom’s finding against GB News today is an alarming development in its attempt to silence us by standing in the way of a forum that allows the public to question politicians directly.
“The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own Prime Minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital.”
The media watchdog also said: “We recognised that this programme would focus mainly on the Conservative Party’s policies and track record on a number of specific issues, meaning that Conservative viewpoints would be prevalent.
“We are clear that this, in and of itself, did not mean the programme could not comply with due impartiality rules under the code.
“It was incumbent on GB News, however, given the major matters under discussion, to ensure that an appropriately wide range of significant views was given due weight in the programme or in other clearly linked and timely programmes.”
GB News, which has been targeted by a far-left advertising boycott since before it even launched, recently announced a membership scheme to allow viewers who want to support the channel to do so directly.
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