Ofcom accused of targeting GB News as it allows ITV to walk free after Ed Balls interview generates 16,000 complaints
Barrister Steven Barrett has accused Ofcom of “double standards” and bowing to a “very loud mob” over its refusal to investigate Ed Balls’ on-air interview with his wife.
It comes as the regulator found GB News broke impartiality rules over its Q&A with Rishi Sunak despite receiving a fraction of the complaints.
Ed Balls interviewed his wife, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, on Good Morning Britain in the wake of the riots that gripped the UK this summer.
Mrs Cooper appeared on the breakfast on August 5 show to discuss the Government’s response.
The decision plunged ITV into chaos, with thousands of complaints lodged. Viewers felt it was a softball interview, with Mr Balls and co-host Kate Garraway giving the Home Secretary an easy ride.
ITV’s chief executive defended Ed Balls’ interview with his wife on Good Morning Britain – but vowed never to do it again.
Despite receiving more than 16,000 complaints, Ofcom confirmed it would not launch an investigation.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Taking into account that their relationship was made clear twice, that a range of views about Labour’s handling of the riots were included in the programme as a whole, and given the vast majority of the interview was conducted by co-presenter, Kate Garraway, we will not be pursuing further.
“We have, however, issued guidance warning ITV to take particular care over the compliance of such interviews in future to ensure due impartiality is preserved given the clear potential issues that could arise from such an editorial decision.”
For barrister Steven Barrett, this is the coup de grâce for the regulator, which has been dogged by accusations of bias in recent years.
“Ofcom is broken. That’s the most important thing to know. That is not hyperbole. That’s not me being excitable. Ofcom is broken because it doesn’t have a definition of impartiality,” he told GB News.
As the barrister sees it, the 2003 Communications Act, on which Ofcom bases its decisions, is full of “waffling garbage”.
He explained: “Ofcom didn’t start from a good or easy place but has made its position worse by adding in extra words, and when you don’t have a clear definition or meaning of what you are trying to enforce, you can’t do so consistently.”
This “woolly” approach leads to wrong-headed decisions, such as not penalising ITV for Ed Balls’ interview with his wife, Mr Barrett claims.
However, the rot goes much deeper than that, he continues.
In the absence of “clear rules” that are applied consistently, the “screaming mob” will dictate the decision-making process, Mr Barrett said.
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As a result, Ofcom has fallen prey to “double standards” – evidenced by the regulator’s frequent run-ins with GB News, Mr Barrett claims.
He explained: “Some people dislike ITV, but they are quiet. They don’t scream about disliking ITV every day. But the people who dislike GB are very vocal. They are a very loud mob so they get listened to. The people who don’t like Yvette Cooper didn’t scream loud enough. That’s not a proper system of governing ourselves. That’s failed state territory. That’s not what we want. I’d rather we went back to clear rules known in advance applied to everybody and I expect GB News to meet them.”
In response to a request for comment, an Ofcom spokesperson told GB News: “Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code does include a definition of due impartiality, and our approach in applying these rules has been endorsed by the Courts many times.
“All regulated broadcasters must comply with due impartiality requirements and all other rules under our Code. We enforce these rules fairly and proportionately, acting independently and impartially at all times.
“In line with our published procedures, we assess each individual complaint and where we find a breach of our rules, we publish fully reasoned decisions based on the evidence. At all times, we take into account the fundamental importance of freedom of expression.”
Mr Barrett’s comments come after GB News lost a High Court bid to temporarily block Ofcom from sanctioning it after the regulator found a Q&A with Rishi Sunak broke impartiality rules.
Despite Ed Balls’ interview receiving 32 times the number of complaints, Ofcom said that it had reached a provisional view that GB News’ programme “broke broadcasting due impartiality rules” and that it was a “serious and repeated breach” of its rules.
The channel has since been given the green light to challenge the finding.