Facts
Conservative Party Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson described an interview with Suella Braverman on GB News as an “exclusive scoop.”
In conventional parlance a newspaper scoop relates to the publication of information previously unknown to the public. This discussion between the deputy chair of the Conservative Party talking to a Conservative Home Secretary was a party political broadcast.
Ofcom regulation 5.3 states that “no politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programme unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified. In that case, the political allegiance of that person must be made clear to the audience.”
Verdict
Lee Anderson’s GB News interview with Suella Braverman was a party political broadcast, not a scoop.
We emailed Lee Anderson’s parliamentary office offering him the chance to respond. The email was received, but no reply.
Additional Note
On 18 March 2024 Ofcom found five examples where GB news was in breach of Broadcasting Code. Although the Lee Anderson and Suella Braverman interview was not listed, we think the Ofcom analysis is relevant:
“All five programmes in question contained a mix of news and current affairs content. We found that host politicians acted as newsreaders, news interviewers or news reporters in sequences which clearly constituted news – including reporting breaking news events – without exceptional justification. News was, therefore, not presented with due impartiality.
“Politicians have an inherently partial role in society and news content presented by them is likely to be viewed by audiences in light of that perceived bias. In our view, the use of politicians to present the news risks undermining the integrity and credibility of regulated broadcast news. We therefore considered it was necessary and proportionate to find a breach of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 in these circumstances.”