GB News presenter Bev Turner has hit out at the Welsh Senedd, after the Parliament spent £233,000 on a new TV and digital signage system.
The new system, installed in 2022, has since been used to block GB News from its output.
Speaking at the time the channel was first blocked from the Senedd's networks, a spokesperson said the move was "following a recent broadcast that was deliberately offensive, demeaning to public debate and contrary to our parliament’s values".
The statement referred to comments made by former presenters Laurence Fox and Dan Wootton, who have since left the channel following an investigation.
Bev Turner was outraged at the Senedd's ban on GB News
GB News
The ban was brought to light again during last week's Welsh Questions in Parliament, as Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies was asked by Tory MP Michael Fabricant: "Is my right honourable friend aware that the Senedd has now decided to ban GB News. What's his policy on that?"
Speaking in defence of GB News, Davies said it was "very disappointing" that the Welsh Labour government are "preventing a perfectly legitimate viewpoint from being heard by members of the Senedd".
Reacting to the ban, GB News host Bev Turner exclaimed "give me strength!" as former Labour Adviser Mike Buckley outlined the reasons for the Senedd's move, highlighting the investigation into Wootton and Fox.
Bev fumed: "The idea that a group of politicians would be so upset by the comments of two people on a channel that they would ban a whole output of political debate is disturbing."
Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies has said he is 'disappointed' by the move
PA
Buckley then explained: "Their line is that they want to protect their staff and so not have them exposed to the potential for that that to be revisited."
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Cohost Andrew Pierce expressed his concern for the Welsh Parliament's ban, stating: "You can just turn off the channel, they don't have to have GB News on in the Welsh Parliament. They can just watch an alternative."
Highlighting an ongoing Ofcom investigation into GB News, Buckley noted that in order for the Welsh Senate to overturn the ban, the channel needs to "make sure that it's complying with Ofcom regulations".
Bev was in disbelief, hitting back at Buckley's remark: "That is so chilling. That kind of mindset makes my blood run cold. And if that is a glimpse of an incoming Labour government, I think we should all be really scared.
"Because what you're effectively saying is that individuals can't make their own decisions about what they do consume, and if they do consume it, whether they are influenced by it."
Bev Turner says the ban 'makes her blood run cold'
GB News
Andrew was in agreement with Bev, adding: "Just because an organisation is being investigated doesn't mean it's done anything wrong."
Buckley was also in agreement, noting: "No it doesn't. But I think basically the sentence line is as long as that investigation is ongoing, they are not going to put in these backups. The Welsh Government may revisit the decision that they made."
In a statement, GB News has said: "GB News is a regulated broadcast channel and takes its obligations very seriously.
"We are committed to continuing to feature serving politicians hosting programmes and will continue to do so – just as other Ofcom regulated services have in the past and still do."
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.
