'Ofcom is broken and operates under bad law' - Stephen Barrett

Well, as a lawyer let me tell you, Ofcom operates under bad law.

Let me explain that. If you have a law banning oranges, then that’s not inherently bad law. Whether you like or dislike that law is your personal political opinion – and it’s not for me, as a lawyer, to take any view.

But if you say you will have a law banning oranges and yet the law you create is “bananas shall be half price on a Friday” then that is objectively bad law – it’s got nothing to do with oranges at all.

So it is then for me as an expert to say: “Oh, terribly sorry but that’s broken law, it is complete toffee and doesn’t do what it purports to.”

Welcome to Ofcom’s ‘rules’. About which I can say I’m terribly sorry but that’s broken law, it is complete toffee and doesn’t do what it purports to. And let’s take a look at Ofcom’s toffee rules now.

Having duly marked their own homework, Ofcom says that GB News has broken these rules by putting the Prime Minister to genuine questions by members of the public:

Matters of major political or industrial controversy and major matters relating to current public policy

5.11: In addition to the rules above, due impartiality must be preserved on matters of major political and industrial controversy and major matters relating to current public policy by the person providing a service (listed above) in each programme or in clearly linked and timely programmes.

Meaning of “matters of major political or industrial controversy and major matters relating to current public policy”

These will vary according to events but are generally matters of political or industrial controversy or matters of current public policy which are of national, and often international, importance, or are of similar significance within a smaller broadcast area.

5.12: In dealing with matters of major political and industrial controversy and major matters relating to current public policy an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight in each programme or in clearly linked and timely programmes. Views and facts must not be misrepresented.

Now, the first thing to notice is how long it is. The entire definition of impartiality is over 1,300 words. You do not need 1,300 words to define something.

And, a golden rule of legal drafting is that every additional word risks reducing clarity (making it harder for people to understand the rule).

The second thing is to notice that, no, you’re not a bad lawyer, this is bad law. Notice how their focus is on ‘controversy’. They then pretend they define ‘controversy’, but they don’t.

What they mean is ‘if you cause a public backlash’. But that’s not a rule, it’s the opposite of a rule – it’s Mob Rule.

The third is true of a lot of Ofcom’s so-called ‘rules’, they only apply ‘sometimes’ – which again, is not a rule. A really good example of that is higher up in 5.3:

5.3: No politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified.

Basically ‘you can’t do a thing, unless you do’ = pure nonsense.

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Even the complaint about GB News is odd. GB News is singled out for not expressing the view of the Labour Party – but not the Lib Dems, UKIP, Reform, SNP, or the Greens…

I also think that they’ve messed up in saying the wrong is based on the show being on “in a period preceding a UK General Election”. Which is, let’s be charitable, just a straight-up mistake.

The period preceding a UK General Election is six weeks before any General Election. It’s called Purdah. For Ofcom to be correct, we needed to be having a General Election on March 25 to catch this show, broadcast on February 12. We clearly didn’t.

When your rules are toffee, they don’t really exist. All you’re left with is your bias, and Ofcom’s is showing.