THE broadcast watchdog has found that a homophobic joke on a GB News programme was “highly offensive” but has ruled out taking further action.
Ofcom said that complaints over a joke which said that paedophiles were included in the LGBT community had been “resolved”.
The regulator received 1390 complaints directly about an episode of Headliners on GB News, over a segment discussing a speech by the Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
Budde spoke at an interfaith prayer service and made a plea for the administration to show compassion to marginalised communities.
Discussing Trump’s reaction, host Josh Howie said: “The type of church that she belongs to, the diocese that talks about the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, I just want to say that includes paedos.
“If we’re doing the full inclusion there.”
The Good Law Project solicited complaints about the comments, gathering 71,851, which it submitted to Ofcom.
People quoted in Ofcom’s decision published on Monday said that Howie’s comments were “a deliberate attempt to conflate being gay with being a paedophile” and encouraged “dangerous tropes” about gay people.
GB News defended the comments to Ofcom, saying that they were “absolutely not a gratuitous insult to gay people” and did not amount to “an accusation of any sort against the LGB community or Queer community”.
The broadcaster went on to say that there was “legitimate debate” on whether the use of the + sign at the end of the LGBT acronym risked the inclusion of paedophiles.
In a statement to Ofcom, GB News said: “The concern for many about using an open-ended term such as Q+ is that there is no clarity over which groups might choose to include themselves under that banner.
“Whilst there are a number of entirely legitimate groups who fall under the ‘Q+’, there are also, and have been for many years, a small number of groups and individuals who advocate that ‘full inclusion’ should be extended to include what have been called ‘Minor Attracted Persons’ or paedophiles. To what extent this is the case is an ongoing matter of debate.”
GB News also criticised the Good Law Project for intervening, saying the campaign group was motivated by “an intense dislike of GB News and [an] unshakeable belief that it ought to be closed down”.
Ofcom said that the “the perceived motivation for a complaint plays no role in Ofcom’s consideration of any substantive issues raised by the content”.
The regulator also acknowledged that Howie had later apologised for the comments in a different programme, Free Speech Nation, where he had been challenged by discrimination and employment lawyer Robin Moira White.
In its report, Ofcom said: “Ofcom considered that the fuller discussion in this episode of Free Speech Nation provided sufficient context and mitigation for the comment in question.
“We noted that the contextualisation of the issue and apology for causing offence was broadcast two and a half weeks after the programme in question.
“While we considered this action was adequate given the particular circumstances of this case, we remind broadcasters they should take prompt action where it would assist in avoiding or minimising unjustified offence.
“Given the circumstances of this case and in light of the subsequent steps taken by the licensee [GB News], our decision is that this matter is resolved.”
Matthew Gill, the Good Law Project’s defamation lawyer, said: “GB News defended its disgraceful claim about the LGBTQ+ community as 'free speech' until the bitter end.
“It's good that Ofcom has finally decided that this dangerous slur should never have put on air, but we need the regulator to hold GB News and its hate-filled broadcasts to account. Toxic programming must face real consequences. Ofcom must impose sanctions.”
A GB News spokesperson said: "There are three outcomes to any Ofcom investigation: 'in breach', 'not in breach', or 'resolved'. Ofcom found this matter to be 'resolved' and acknowledged that Mr Howie did not intend to cause offence to the LGBTQ+ community."
With regards to the Good Law Project, the spokesperson added: "The GLP is neither good at law, nor the facts. GB News is winning both in audience growth and serving the people of Britain because our journalism is fearless. We won’t be bullied by partisan organisations like the Good Law Project, whose main motivation appears to be silencing anyone it disagrees with, even going as far to misrepresent Ofcom's decision in order to justify their prejudice driven campaign.”
