Michael Gove Backs GB News Owner As Labour Ask How ‘Incendiary’ Tweets ‘Square’ With Extremism Definition

Secretary of State Michael Gove clashed with Labour’s Andrew Slaughter in defence of GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall after the MP quoted an inflammatory anti-Muslim tweet liked by Marshall in extremism debate.

Marshall was named for a second time in the chamber Thursday during a debate about Gove’s newly updated “definition of extremism” – itself part of a broader governmental effort to tackle the surge in Islamist and far-right extremism.

The new definition of extremism explicitly identifies “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance” as problematic and targets ideologies that seek to “negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others,” or those aiming to “undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights.” It includes targeting those who would “intentionally create a permissive environment” for extremism.

In parliament on Thursday Gove name dropped two far right organisations and three Muslim organisations for potential blacklisting under the updated definition.

It was during this debate that Slaughter highlighted Marshall’s social media activity, the recent subject of an investigation by anti-racist advocacy group Hope Not Hate.

Slaughter began: “This tweet was liked by Sir Paul Marshall: ‘Civil war is coming. There has never been a country that has remained peaceful with a sizable Islamic presence. Once the Muslims get to 15 to 20 percent of the population, the current cold civil war will turn hot.’”

He continued: “Many other incendiary tweets were liked or retweeted by Marshall, a substantial donor to both the Tory party and the Secretary of State personally, according to a recent Hope Not Hate-News Agents investigation. How does the Secretary of State square his definition of extremism with accepting money from someone like Marshall?”

Gove, however, outright defended Marshall, although did not comment on the liked tweet.

He said: “I deprecate the personal attack on Sir Paul Marshall, who is a distinguished philanthropist and the supporter of Ark Academies, which are state schools that have done so much, including in the honourable gentleman’s constituency, to improve the lives of disadvantaged children from a variety of minority backgrounds.”

Earlier in the day Labour shadow minister Kevin Brennan requested a debate over GB News’ “breaches of the broadcasting code” and questioned whether, as the network’s owner, Marshall’s “right-wing and extreme views” made him unfit to hold a broadcasting licence.

Marshall’s social media activity was the focus of a report published in February, which found that he had reportedly liked posts calling for mass deportations and predicting a civil war between “native Europeans” and “fake refugee invaders.

In his defence, representatives for Marshall said that he “posts on a wide variety of subjects” and that the “sample [highlighted by Hope Not Hate] does not represent his views.”

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