In a long-awaited ruling, the media regulator Ofcom has found GB News in breach of the broadcasting code after a presenter on the channel repeated a homophobic slur, prompting a record number of public complaints.
The incident occurred on 22 January on the discussion show Headliners, when a presenter repeated a dangerous and discredited lie that conflates the LGBTQ+ community with paedophilia. The broadcast triggered a massive public outcry, with 71,582 people using an online tool provided by the Good Law Project to file a formal complaint—one of the largest complaint numbers Ofcom has ever received.
After an investigation launched in March, Ofcom has now published its decision. The regulator stated that the comment “clearly had the potential to be highly offensive” by “appearing to conflate or associate some sexualities and/or gender identities with paedophilia, particularly given how well established this is as a prejudicial trope against homosexual people.”
In its assessment, Ofcom considered tens of thousands of messages from Good Law Project supporters, who detailed the profound harm such rhetoric causes to LGBTQ+ people.
A Belated Apocalypse and a Call for Stronger Action
While awaiting Ofcom’s verdict, GB News pre-emptively took Headliners off the air in June, citing low ratings. The presenter at the centre of the controversy also issued an apology on another GB News programme over two weeks after the original broadcast. Ofcom noted this apology and considered the “matter resolved.”
However, the Good Law Project has expressed concern that the response was insufficient. The organisation’s defamation lawyer, Matthew Gill, pointed out that GB News had defended the “disgraceful claim about the LGBTQ+ community as ‘free speech’ until the bitter end.”
“It’s good that Ofcom has finally decided that this dangerous slur should never have been put on air,” Gill said, “but we need the regulator to hold GB News and its hate-filled broadcasts to account. Toxic programming must face real consequences. Ofcom must impose sanctions.”
This ruling sends a clear message that hate speech will not be tolerated on British airwaves. Yet, with far-right narratives gaining traction globally, critics argue that Ofcom must take tougher and more decisive action to prevent such breaches from occurring repeatedly.
A Pattern of Breaches: GB News’s History with Ofcom
The recent ruling is not an isolated incident for GB News. The channel, which launched in 2021, has accumulated a significant number of breaches and ongoing investigations from Ofcom, particularly concerning its approach to impartiality and offensive content.
Here is a detailed list of GB News’s previous confirmed breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code:
- Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s ‘People’s Forum’ (June 2024)
- Breach: Ofcom found the channel in breach of due impartiality rules for a programme featuring the then-Serving Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. The event was found to have “overwhelmingly featured an audience supportive of the Conservative Party,” without adequately representing opposing viewpoints.
- Esther McVey and Philip Davies Show (March 2024)
- Breach: The channel was found in breach of impartiality rules after its hosts, who are also sitting MPs, interviewed the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, about the Budget. Ofcom ruled the programme failed to include an appropriately wide range of significant views on a major matter of political controversy.
- Mark Steyn Show (March 2023)
- Breach: Ofcom found GB News in breach of impartiality rules for an episode that dealt with the safety of Covid-19 vaccines. The programme failed to represent an appropriately wide range of views on a major matter of current public policy.
- Dan Wootton Tonight (November 2022)
- Breach: This programme was found in breach of the offensive language rule. During a segment, guest Laurence Fox used a highly offensive and misogynistic term about a female political journalist, which was broadcast without sufficient context or challenge.
- Toppling of Edward Colston Statue Coverage (June 2021)
- Breach: In one of its earliest breaches, GB News was found to have broken impartiality rules in its coverage of the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol. The report was deemed to have given a one-sided perspective on a matter of major political controversy.
In addition to these confirmed breaches, Ofcom has had numerous other ongoing investigations into GB News programmes, often concerning due impartiality, especially in cases where sitting MPs host shows and interview government ministers.
This pattern demonstrates a consistent challenge for the channel in operating within the established rules for British broadcasting, raising ongoing questions about its editorial standards and compliance processes.
