GB News wins High Court challenge over Jacob Rees-Mogg shows
The High Court has quashed Ofcom 's decisions that GB News twice broke impartiality rules during shows hosted by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg when he was an MP.
Sir Jacob read out a breaking news bulletin about Donald Trump's civil sexual assault trial during his Jacob Rees-Mogg 's State Of The Nation show in May 2023.
The former Tory frontbencher also spoke to a GB News journalist reporting live from Nottingham on June 13 2023 in another edition of his programme, asking about the fatal stabbings carried out by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham.
The segments were 53 seconds and three-and-a-half minutes-long respectively, and after an investigation concluded in March last year, Ofcom stated they had breached two of the rules in the broadcasting code.
These rules state that news must be reported with due accuracy and 'presented with due impartiality', while the second says: 'No politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified.'
Sir Jacob, who lost the constituency of North East Somerset to Labour by more than 5,000 votes in the last general election, had been business secretary, Brexit minister and leader of the House of Commons under the Conservative government.
GB News brought a legal challenge over the findings, telling the court in London at a hearing in January that the regulator had misinterpreted the code and Sir Jacob's TV show was a current affairs programme.
Ofcom defended the challenge, with its lawyers telling the court that a newsreader is defined as someone who 'reads content that is news', and the code must apply to 'news in any form'.
In a judgment on Friday, Mrs Justice Collins Rice said the regulator's decisions were 'vitiated by error of law' and that Ofcom 'conflated a news programme and a current affairs programme'.
She continued: 'A programme cannot be a news programme and a current affairs programme at the same time.
'The statutory scheme deals with them differently.
'Blending the two as a response to such perceived blending by broadcasters is not a solution within the current scope of the statutory scheme.'
In her 29-page ruling, the judge quashed the two decisions and sent them back to the regulator to be reconsidered.
She added: 'It remains open to Ofcom, in law, to pursue investigations into either or both broadcasts as a potential breach.'
Following the ruling, an Ofcom spokesperson said: 'We accept the court's guidance on this important aspect of due impartiality in broadcast news and the clarity set out in its judgment.
'We will now review and consult on proposed changes to the broadcasting code to restrict politicians from presenting news in any type of programme to ensure this is clear for all broadcasters.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Startling sum North missed out on for transport in 'decade of deceit'
Analysis by think-tank the IPPR found the North of England would have had an extra £140billion in transport cash if it was treated the same as London under the Tories The North of England would have had an extra £140billion of transport cash if it was treated the same as London under the Tories, damning figures show. New analysis reveals the Government spent £1,183 per person in the capital between 2010 and 2023 - compared to just £486 in the north. And it was even worse in the Midlands, where the figure was £455. Marcus Johns, senior research fellow at think-tank IPPR North - which crunched the numbers - said: 'Today's figures are concrete proof that promises made to the North over the last decade were hollow. It was a decade of deceit. "We are 124 years on from the end of Queen Victoria's reign – yet the North is still running on infrastructure built during her reign – while our transport chasm widens. This isn't London bashing - Londoners absolutely deserve investment. "But £1,182 per person for London and £486 for northerners? The numbers don't lie – this isn't right." The data shows £83billion of Government cash was spent on transport projects in the north since 1999/2000. The region with the lowest amount of investment over the period was the East Midlands with just £355 spent per person. Last week Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £15.6 billion package for mayoral authorities to use on public transport projects across the North and Midlands. This cash is expected to include funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. There will also be a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire. Labour's Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood said: 'This report lays bare the way in which successive Conservative governments have short-changed areas outside of London and the south east, denying millions of people access to jobs, education and opportunity. ' Labour promised we would bring growth to every part of the country and we've put our money where our mouth is. As part of our Plan for Change we've announced more than £15 billion for local transport in England's city regions, delivering the biggest ever investment in buses, trams and local rail."
South Wales Guardian
7 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Swinney – Reform voters in Hamilton by-election ‘angry', not racist
The First Minister was asked on the BBC Scotland's Sunday Show if those who backed Reform were 'gullible' or 'racist' – a term the SNP leader has previously used to describe the party. Mr Swinney said the 7,088 people who backed Reform – more than a quarter of the vote – in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse ballot were 'neither', but were instead 'angry at the cost-of-living crisis'. He added: 'I think that's what motivates the Reform vote. People have got poorer because of one central thing – Brexit, and the author of that is (Reform UK leader Nigel) Farage. 'I'm standing up to Farage. I'm going to make no apology for it.' He said the SNP is 'in the process of recovery' and he had come into office as First Minister a year ago 'inheriting some significant difficulties' within the party, and that it needs to get stronger before the Holyrood election in 2026. He said voters are 'having to work hard for less' and are concerned about public services, particularly the NHS. Mr Swinney was asked about comments he made prior to the vote saying 'Labour were not at the races' and claiming it was a 'two-horse race' between the SNP and Reform. Labour's Davy Russell gained the seat from the SNP with 8,559 votes, while SNP candidate Katy Loudon came second on 7,957, ahead of Reform's Ross Lambie. The First Minister said that since the general election campaign last year, people he has met have pledged never to vote Labour due to the winter fuel allowance being cut, while Reform's support increased. Mr Swinney said: 'People were telling us on the doorsteps, they were giving us reasons why they weren't supporting Labour. We could also see that Farage's support was rising dramatically and that's happening across the United Kingdom, it's not unique to Hamilton. 'I positioned the SNP to be strong enough to stop Farage, and that's what we were determined to do.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has branded the SNP's campaign 'dishonest and disgraceful' and said it had put the spotlight on Reform. Those comments were put to the First Minister, who said he had previously been allies with Mr Sarwar in a campaign to 'stand up to far-right thinking'. Mr Swinney said: 'That was months ago and then we found ourselves in the aftermath of the UK local authority elections, the English local authority elections where Farage surged to a leading position and won a by-election south of the border. 'So the dynamic of our politics change in front of us. 'I've been standing up to Farage for months, I've been warning about the dangers of Farage for months, and they crystallised in the rise of Farage during the Hamilton, Stonehouse and Larkhall by-election.'
STV News
9 hours ago
- STV News
Reform voters in Hamilton by-election ‘angry', not racist, says Swinney
John Swinney has said Scots who voted for Reform in a by-election last week were 'angry', not racist. The First Minister was asked on the BBC Scotland's Sunday Show if those who backed Reform were 'gullible' or 'racist' – a term the SNP leader has previously used to describe the party. Swinney said the 7,088 people who backed Reform – more than a quarter of the vote – in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse ballot were 'neither', but were instead 'angry at the cost-of-living crisis'. He added: 'I think that's what motivates the Reform vote. People have got poorer because of one central thing – Brexit, and the author of that is (Reform UK leader Nigel) Farage. 'I'm standing up to Farage. I'm going to make no apology for it.' PA Media John Swinney said those who voted Reform in Hamilton were 'angry' (PA). He said the SNP is 'in the process of recovery' and he had come into office as First Minister a year ago 'inheriting some significant difficulties' within the party, and that it needs to get stronger before the Holyrood election in 2026. He said voters are 'having to work hard for less' and are concerned about public services, particularly the NHS. Swinney was asked about comments he made prior to the vote saying 'Labour were not at the races' and claiming it was a 'two-horse race' between the SNP and Reform. Labour's Davy Russell gained the seat from the SNP with 8,559 votes, while SNP candidate Katy Loudon came second on 7,957, ahead of Reform's Ross Lambie. The First Minister said that since the general election campaign last year, people he has met have pledged never to vote Labour due to the winter fuel allowance being cut, while Reform's support increased. PA Media Reform UK came third in the by-election (Jane Barlow/PA). Swinney said: 'People were telling us on the doorsteps, they were giving us reasons why they weren't supporting Labour. We could also see that Farage's support was rising dramatically and that's happening across the United Kingdom, it's not unique to Hamilton. 'I positioned the SNP to be strong enough to stop Farage, and that's what we were determined to do.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has branded the SNP's campaign 'dishonest and disgraceful' and said it had put the spotlight on Reform. Those comments were put to the First Minister, who said he had previously been allies with Mr Sarwar in a campaign to 'stand up to far-right thinking'. Swinney said: 'That was months ago and then we found ourselves in the aftermath of the UK local authority elections, the English local authority elections where Farage surged to a leading position and won a by-election south of the border. 'So the dynamic of our politics change in front of us. 'I've been standing up to Farage for months, I've been warning about the dangers of Farage for months, and they crystallised in the rise of Farage during the Hamilton, Stonehouse and Larkhall by-election.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
