Breaches

 A difficult one for GB News to take: according to Ofcom, adding Michael Crick to a current affairs programme doesn't provide an "appropriately wide range of significant views", and not enough to preserve due impartiality on current public policy.   

There was, for GB News, quite a bit of production effort put into the interview with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ahead of the Spring Budget. Tory MPs Esther McVey and her Tory MP hubby, Philip Davies, had a recorded fireside chat with Jezzer.  It was cut up into five minute chunks, and then Esther and Phil dissected the four chunks with studio guests Michael Crick and Paddy O'Flynn, once of UKIP, now campaigning for the Daily Express. The presenters also picked up social media comments, and the views of two businessmen. Rob Baker and Mike Flynn. Baker wanted tax cuts to help business; Flynn wanted HS2 cancelled. 

There were some tough-sounding questions (Esther to Jezzer: Chancellor, are you embarrassed, ashamed, that you're here now, when we've got the highest levels of taxation in modern history?  Esther to Jezzer: Is there a price at which HS2, where even you would say, well it’s now no longer value for money or are you determined to build it irrespective of how much the price goes up to?)

45 people complained. Ofcom said the programme breached these rules... 

Rule 5.11: “.... due impartiality must be preserved on matters of major political and industrial controversy and major matters relating to current public policy by the person providing a service in each programme or in clearly linked and timely programmes....”.

Rule 5.12: “In dealing with matters of major political and industrial controversy and major matters relating to current public policy an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight in each programme or in clearly linked and timely programmes. Views and facts must not be misrepresented”