GB News Editorial Chief Evokes Bible Stories In Memo To Staffers After Ofcom Ruling

Five episodes of GB News programmes that were presented by Tory MPs were found by Ofcom to have broken broadcasting rules. (Press Association via AP Images)

GB News’ editorial chief Michael Booker charged his team to prepare for a “biblical fight” against the “Goliaths of the TV world” as the channel braces for scrutiny in the election year.

Press Gazette published Booker’s impassioned plea in the form of a 900-word internal email urging staff to “double down” following Ofcom’s ruling that five GB News programmes had breached due impartiality rules.

Booker, who joined GB News from the Sunday Express, invoked a series of biblical tales to underline his point that the network was up against it.

Booker compared his team to Old Testament Israelite boy David, who slayed giant Philistine “heavily armed” warrior Goliath with just a sling shot and became King. He said GB News was “taking on the Goliaths of the TV world” but that “even though it’s sometimes a tougher job than the one cleaning out the stables on Noah’s Ark, slaying giants is what we do.”

Furthering the Noah’s Ark analogy, a Genesis story in which the God of the Bible charges Noah with building a boat that will save humanity from a catastrophic flood, he added: “We need to work better than ever to make our shows too watertight to attack… By sticking to the GB News mission and doubling down on making sure we stay within the rules, we will get there.”

The editorial chief wrote: “This year we’ve already got our rivals in a spin trying to keep up, left looking and sounding like a confused tower of babble… but we need to keep pushing to make even better shows and achieve even higher standards.”

He added: “Not even a 20ft Goliath with an unnatural fascination with Section 5 of the Ofcom code should be able to find a crack in our defences.”

The network blasted media watchdog Ofcom’s Monday ruling as “chilling” after five shows hosted by sitting Tory MPs were found in violation of Rules 5.1 and 5.3. The regulator said that “a politician cannot be a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, there is editorial justification.” The shows in question were hosted by Tory MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies.

GB News has been subject to multiple other investigations related to impartiality with several still ongoing.

Read Booker’s memo in full at Press Gazette.