Esther Macvey: Last News

Any British broadcaster who breaches general election programing rules will be hit with an Ofcom sanction, the regulator has said, a warning likely informed by a number of GB News breaches over the past year.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. media regulator Ofcom has said it is “sounding a warning to broadcasters” to maintain “the highest level of due impartiality” ahead of a general election that is likely due later this year. Ofcom has enhanced rules that apply during election periods.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. media regulator Ofcom has found that five programs on the GB News channel featuring politicians as news presenters broke broadcasting due impartiality rules. The investigation, which was launched last year, concluded that two episodes of “Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation,” hosted by the titular politician; two episodes of “Friday Morning With Esther and Phil,” featuring Esther McVey and Philip Davies; and one episode of “Saturday Morning With Esther and Phil,” broadcast during May and June 2023, failed to comply with Rules 5.1 and 5.3 of the Broadcasting Code.

Ofcom has delivered its biggest GB News judgement yet, finding the network in breach on five different occasions over the thorny issue of politicians acting as news presenters.

The People’s Forum on the channel on February 12, answering questions from a live audience, with many complaining that no alternative point of view was offered during the broadcast.In a statement, Ofcom said: “We have received around 500 complaints about the programme which aired on GB News.“We are investigating under Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code which provide additional due impartiality requirements for programmes dealing with matters of major political controversy and major matters relating to current public policy.“Specifically, Rules 5.11 and 5.12 require that an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight in such programmes, or in clearly linked and timely programmes.”The presenter Stephen Dixon said during the show that the questions were being posed by undecided voters, and that they had not been seen in advance, either by GB News or by Sunak.An official spokesperson for Sunak said that the prime minister has no regrets about his appearance on the show and that “this is a matter for Ofcom”.Ofcom, which sets the rules by which broadcasters must abide, does not insist that equal time is given to opposing political views, but does say that audiences must be exposed to alternative ways of thinking.GB News has been found to have fallen foul of Ofcom rules in the past, including when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was interviewed by fellow Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies about his Autumn Statement.The channel’s policy of allowing active political figures to host shows, including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lee Anderson, is also contentious.

Lorraine Kelly might be well known for presenting her self-titled ITV show through the week, but she's also appeared elsewhere on our screens, including as a surprise guest judge on Saturday night's Masked Singer UK episode.

Peter Andre is to co-host a new show on GB News throughout December.

It appears to be a busy year for Boris Johnson as the former UK prime minister not only became a father again with wife Carrie, but has accepted a new career venture. It's been revealed that the 59-year-old is set to join GB News, where he promises to share his "unvarnished views" on a variety of topics.

Ofcom has found GB News to be in breach of due impartiality rules in a landmark ruling pertaining to an episode of Esther McVey and Phillip Davies’ show.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s broadcast standards investigation into GB News has found the channel to be in breach of its impartiality rules. The issue of politicians who also serve as newsreaders being in potential breach of Ofcom’s impartiality rules has cropped up in recent months.

Four more Ofcom investigations have been opened into under-fire UK network GB News, including the first into Laurence Fox’s show.

Media regulator Ofcom has launched a probe into Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg's GB News show after receiving complaints over an episode covering a court case involving Donald Trump. There were 40 complaints made over former Cabinet Minister acting as a newsreader during his State Of The Nation show on May 9.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. media regulator Ofcom has launched broadcast standards investigations into TalkTV, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and GB News after receiving complaints. The issue of politicians who also serve as newsreaders being in potential breach of Ofcom’s impartiality rules has cropped up in recent months. In April, Ofcom launched an investigation into GB News over an interview given by chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt to Esther McVey and Philip Davies on March 11 on the “Saturday Morning with Esther and Philip” news program. All three politicians are members of parliament representing the ruling Conservative party. The investigation is ongoing.

UK regulator Ofcom has launched investigations into shows hosted by politicians on GB News and TalkTV, including one featuring a segment on Donald Trump’s civil trial.

Former Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Tanya Bardsley is a woman on a mission. She is determined to help others struggling like she has with ADHD but who have slipped under the radar when it comes to getting a diagnosis and support.

Meghan Markle as “extremists” in a no holds barred rant on GB News.The royal expert appeared furious as she unloaded during an interview with Esther McVey, claiming the pair have behaved ‘very badly’.“Anybody who actually admires the way that Harry and Megan are behaving are extremely wrong and should be ashamed of themselves," she said.READ MORE: Royal Family have 'new fears' Harry will slam senior royals in memoir, says biographer“I think psychologically, they've cracked open something, that other people think ‘well, I wouldn't want to do what they're doing because they're extremists and they behave very badly, but there must be some way of earning more money out of that’."She went on to say that the pair were simply trying to make money out of their royal ties and have no respect for the royal family.“That's another reason why they should be so ashamed of themselves because it's just not right.

The Prime Minister has warned that another lockdown isn't out of the question if a new and deadly variant of coronavirus appears.

"People, especially politicians, think they're coming on to do a cosy little show, and it's really not!" she said.Lorraine gave another example as she recalled having Jennifer Arcuri on the show."When Jennifer Arcuri was in … honest to God, I was sat in the studio watching her being all coy, going and she said literally nothing. "So I just said: 'What's the point of you being on?' "Who do you think you are to do that to the viewers? You should never take them for granted like that."Her comment was in relation to Jennifer's GMB interview in November 2019 when she criticised the American entrepreneur for "not saying anything" after agreeing to come on the programme."What's the point of you coming on TV to clear the air and then you don't say anything?" Lorraine asked.An unamused-looking Jennifer hit back: "I believe I said a few things."Meanwhile, in June 2019, Lorraine made headlines when she brushed off Susanna Reid's comment on whether her co-host still remembered once working with Esther on their GMTV days. Esther was sat in the studio as she waited for Lorraine's response.The former Daybreak star curtly replied: "Yep, Yes I do. "Right, coming up after half past eight…" Fans believed that Lorraine was implying she had nothing nice to say about her former colleague as the clip went on to amass millions of views online, having since become one of the most-watched viral videos from GMB.Later that day, during a Q&A session, Esther went into detail about her ties to the TV personality, saying: "We used to share a dressing room."And she used to be on the programme afterwards, and obviously she used to be partnered with Eamonn Holmes.

Boris Johnson saw off a Tory rebellion to secure MPs' backing for his controversial £12 billion tax rise to deal with the NHS Covid backlog and reform social care funding in England. The House of Commons voted by 319 to 248 in favour of the 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance Contributions despite deep unhappiness among many Conservative MPs.

Boris Johnson is being pressed to open schools after half term in a push to get kids back into the class room.

Lorraine Kelly has revealed the truth about her fall-out with former colleague and politician Esther McVey. Last year, the 61-year-old TV presenter famously clashed with Esther when the MP appeared on Good Morning Britain.