Michael Grade, the former chair of Ofcom, has claimed that mainstream broadcasters are “embarrassed” by GB News because it covers the “agenda of the majority”. Grade, who recently stepped down from the media watchdog and retook the Conservative whip in the House of Lords, said he could now speak freely about the rightwing channel.
In an interview with Politics Home, Grade dismissed impartiality concerns, arguing that GB News faces the same rules as the BBC, Sky and ITN. He said: “All news programmes are the result of editorial choices… just because GB News make different editorial choices… doesn’t make it wrong.” He added that compliance is “not difficult; sometimes it’s only a sentence in a script.”
Grade’s remarks drew criticism from former Ofcom figures. Chris Banatvala, Ofcom’s founding director of standards, said Grade’s understanding of the broadcasting code was flawed, stating: “No one seriously argues that GB News’s editorial agenda is itself the problem… The evidence is now clear: Ofcom is not applying the same regulatory standards to GB News as other news services.”
Ofcom has faced scrutiny over its regulation of GB News under Grade’s tenure, including its decision not to investigate a Donald Trump interview that aired unchallenged claims. The regulator later announced an investigation into a repeat broadcast. GB News said it was “surprised and concerned” by the delayed decision.
A GB News spokesperson said: “GB News is Britain’s No 1 news channel. It’s because we believe journalism is there to serve the people of our nation and not the media establishment elite.” Professor Steven Barnett of the University of Westminster said Grade “appears to have rewritten the law on impartiality” and urged Ofcom’s new chair to regulate GB News as parliament required.
