Ofcom has tightened its guidelines for politicians presenting news shows after the UK’s media regulator lost a court battle with GB News earlier this year.
Under UK broadcasting rules, politicians are not allowed to present news shows, but can host current affairs shows. Ofcom has announced that this will not change, but the regulator has updated the guidance underpinning these rules following an industry consultation.
The updated guidance broadens the definition of a politician, expanding it to include members of the House of Lords, for example. The updates also make clear that, if an MP was presenting information on a program other than the news, their status “would likely be a relevant factor” in determining whether “the required impartiality was preserved in the program as a whole”.
The latter point is testament to the High Court battle between Ofcom and GB News earlier this year, in which the news network successfully overturned decisions made by the regulator.
Ofcom found GB News in breach of broadcasting rules after finding that Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Conservative minister, had veered into newsreader territory by telling viewers in May 2023 that a jury had found Donald Trump guilty of sexually assaulting the writer E. Jean Carroll. The High Court overturned Ofcom’s decision, concluding that Mogg’s decision State of the nation the show was primarily about current affairs, meaning the rule against politicians presenting news did not apply.
Ofcom’s consultation did not examine whether politicians should host current affairs shows, as Reform leader Nigel Farage does for GB News. This is a highly controversial issue in the UK, which has attracted the attention of Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who said it was “fracturing” democracy.
As part of the consultation, Ofcom initially proposed changing the wording of relevant rule 5.3 to read: “No politician may be used as a newsreader, news interviewer or news journalist in any type of program unless, exceptionally, this is justified from an editorial point of view. In this case, that person’s political allegiance must be made clear to the public.
The proposal sparked widespread concern from industry stakeholders, including GB News, which said it was “unsupported by evidence, irrational and ultra vires”. ITV and ITN also expressed concerns about the rule change, with the former saying it would be “very wide-ranging” in terms of production.
Ofcom abandoned the proposal, preferring to amend its guidelines. Cristina Nicolotti Squires, director of Ofcom’s broadcasting group, said: “We listened carefully to the views of the public, broadcasters and other experts during our consultation.
“Our updated guidelines provide adequate protection to the public, while preserving the freedom of expression and editorial discretion of broadcasters in choosing their presentation programming. »
