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Broadcaster Carole Malone has accused Ofcom of being biased towards the BBC following its ruling that GB News breached guidelines.
By Rebecca Jones, Senior Showbiz Reporter
Speaking on GB News on Tuesday morning, journalist Carole Malone accused the television watchdog Ofcom of being biased towards the BBC.
She claimed 10 out of the 14 members of Ofcom's content board were ex-BBC employees, and that only one complaint about the corporation was investigated by the watchdog between 2021 and 2022. [*This has also been reported in Daily Mail in 2022]
Carole added: "The figures I've pulled out today show that in the years 2021 to 2022, the BBC referred 478 complaints, but it got 800,000... And referred - what's it's allowed to do - these complaints to Ofcom."
She continued: "Do you know how many were held of those complaints? One in two whole years.
"So when you say, 'Is it one rule for one?' Yes. Nadine Dorries, when she was Culture Secretary... She was planning to target Ofcom for its bias towards the BBC."
READ MORE Andrew Neil roasts GB News in just three words in rant about the channel
Carole Malone made her opinions known on GB News (Image: GB NEWS)
"It is very definitely biased towards the BBC," Carole alleged to end her argument.
It comes following reports GB News could face punishment after a broadcast with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was found to have broken broadcasting rules.
The watchdog stated it was considering a "statutory sanction" after finding the People's Forum: The Prime Minister breached impartiality guidelines.
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The programme aired on February 12 and amassed a total of 547 Ofcom complaints.
In March, five other GB News shows were found by Ofcom to have also broken impartiality rules. These include two instalments of Jacob Reese-Mogg's State of the Nation, two episodes of Friday Morning with Esther and Phil and one episode of Saturday Morning with Esther and Phil.
Ofcom said of Sunak's appearance: "He had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election. We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News."
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GB News responded in a statement: "We cannot fathom how Ofcom can claim this programme lacked the 'appropriately wide range of significant views' required to uphold due impartiality."
"It did not. We maintain that the programme was in line with the Broadcasting Code."
"Ofcom is obliged by law to uphold freedom of speech and not to interfere with the right of all news organisations to make their own editorial decisions within the law.
An Ofcom spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “Nobody should doubt that Ofcom acts with complete independence. The rules apply equally to all broadcasters, and we enforce them fairly and proportionately, without fear or favour. Our Content Board is made up of experts from a range of commercial, media and telecoms backgrounds, including newspapers, Channel 4, Sky, tech platforms and the BBC.”
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