The former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton has said GB News should lose its broadcasting licence as he accused Britain’s media regulator of failing in its duty to protect impartial television news.
Boulton, who was Sky News’s political editor for 25 years after the channel launched in 1989, said he believed it was too late to revoke GB News’s broadcasting rights, despite bringing a partisan brand of coverage to British television since its debut in 2021.
Asked whether he would strip GB News of its licence, Boulton said: “Yes, I would. I think Ofcom has failed in its duty as the regulator … It seems to me that there have been clear violations of the due impartiality rules consistently from GB News.
“I think it’s probably too late now, is unfortunately my conclusion,” Boulton told the Beeb Watch podcast. “But should GB News have been given the status of a news broadcaster alongside Sky and ITV and Channel 4 and the BBC? In my personal view, no. That’s why we had a regulator. But I think the regulator has failed.”
His comments follow a series of high-profile complaints about the rightwing channel’s coverage, including an interview with Donald Trump last year in which the US president was not challenged over claims about Britain, the climate crisis and Islam.
This week, Ofcom announced it was investigating a programme that featured a repeat of the interview.
Boulton also called for a ban on what he called “presenticians” – politicians who also work as TV presenters.
GB News’s lineup includes several figures from Reform UK. The party’s leader, Nigel Farage, presents a programme on the channel and, through his private business, holds almost 500,000 shares in GB News’s parent company, according to Companies House filings.
The channel’s more openly partisan approach has emerged partly because broadcasting rules do not require the kind of absolute neutrality traditionally associated with other major broadcasters.
GB News has consistently maintained that it meets Ofcom’s standards on “due impartiality” by featuring guests and panellists with differing views from the most of its presenters and commentators.
A spokesperson said: “GB News takes its responsibilities as a regulated broadcaster seriously and operates in compliance with the Ofcom broadcasting code.”
Ofcom rejected suggestions it had failed to regulate partial and misleading coverage, saying it was vital to maintain “freedom of expression” within the broadcasting rules.
“We strongly reject the suggestion that Ofcom is unwilling or unable to enforce the broadcasting code,” a spokesperson said. “We apply our rules consistently and fairly to all broadcasters, and we take enforcement action where necessary.
“Freedom of expression is something we guard fiercely in this country, and the bar for revocation of broadcast licences is rightly set very high and reserved for the most serious cases.”
The regulator added: “Our due impartiality rules are designed to ensure audiences are given a diverse range of perspectives so they can come to an informed view on matters of public interest. As the code makes clear, ‘due’ impartiality does not require absolute neutrality and will vary depending on the subject matter, programme format and audience expectations.
“Ofcom does not direct editorial policy or continuously monitor output, as doing so would risk undermining broadcasters’ editorial independence and the open debate that is essential in a democratic society.”
Despite its chaotic start, GB News has established itself alongside other news channels and has outperformed Sky News and the BBC’s News channel in average audience figures over several months.
Like most rolling-news channels, however, its audience is relatively small. In April, it recorded an average of 89,500 viewers.
