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Ofcom has defended its role as UK media watchdog after launching a formal investigation into a show on GB News that broadcast sexist comments by actor Laurence Fox about a female political journalist.
On Thursday, Ofcom said that it had received 7,300 complaints about the programme, which aired on Tuesday and has sparked an investigation under the Broadcasting Code.
The regulator will look at whether the comments made by Fox were in line with rules that broadcasters must ensure that material that may cause offence is justified by the context.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive, also sought to defend the regulator from criticism of its handling of the scandal so far.
GB News has been found to have broken broadcasting rules three times since it launched in June 2021 and is being investigated for six further potential breaches of impartiality.
Dawes acknowledged that “over the past few days there has been speculation and commentary about our role as the independent broadcast regulator”.
She pointed out that parliament set objectives on how broadcasters should be regulated, leaving Ofcom to “set and enforce rules to achieve these objectives”.
She added: “Contrary to some claims, these rules remain unchanged. They are designed to protect audiences from offensive and harmful material, and to uphold the integrity of broadcast news and current affairs programming, while always ensuring that freedom of expression is front and centre in every decision we take.”
GB News, which is backed by hedge fund boss Paul Marshall, has suspended both Fox and Dan Wootton, who hosted the show on Tuesday.
On Thursday, MailOnline said it would now axe Wootton’s regular column. Wootton has separately been subject to allegations of inappropriate behaviour, leading to an investigation at The Sun, his former employer. He has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement, DMG Media, which owns MailOnline, said: “Following events this week, DMG Media can confirm that Dan Wootton’s freelance column with MailOnline — which had already been paused — has now been terminated, along with his contract.”
GB News has apologised for “totally unacceptable” comments aired in the interview.
Fox, an actor and leader of the Reclaim party, described Ava Evans, a political correspondent for the website Joe, as a “little woman” and said “show me a single self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman”.
Wootton has denied any wrongdoing. Fox, who has not responded to requests for comment, defended himself on social media and said that GB News knew what he intended to say.
He said in a post: “If you are expecting a grovelling apology, I suggest you don’t hold your breath.”
