The chief executive of GB News has accused far-left activists of waging a “coordinated political campaign” against the channel after Ofcom launched another investigation into its programming.
Angelos Frangopoulos said GB News was facing an “orchestrated attack” by pressure groups seeking to silence the broadcaster, which styles itself as a challenger to mainstream media.
The controversy centres on an episode of Headliners, a newspaper review show hosted by comedian Josh Howie, which aired in January. The programme received over 1,200 complaints to Ofcom, a number that reportedly soared after the Good Law Project, a campaign group founded by lawyer Jolyon Maugham, submitted a petition with more than 70,000 signatures calling for regulatory action.
The episode attracted outrage after Mr Howie appeared to suggest that paedophiles were included within the LGBTQ+ community.
The Good Law Project said: “GB News is no stranger to spouting hatred and toxic lies. They take pride in it and pretend the rules don’t matter. It’s clearly illegal to stir up hatred by broadcasting a poisonous myth.”
Campaign group Stop Funding Hate has also condemned the comments as “toxic and dangerous” and is calling on Sky, which manages GB News’s advertising, to cut ties with the channel.
If Ofcom treats each individual complaint as separate, the investigation could set a new record for broadcasting complaints, surpassing the 58,000 grievances lodged over Piers Morgan’s controversial remarks about Meghan Markle on Good Morning Britain.
Mr Frangopoulos defended the channel, dismissing the backlash as a politically motivated attempt to stifle free speech.
“These groups shamelessly masquerade as being for the ‘good’, but their words and actions are filled with hate,” he said.
“It’s time to call out this anti-democratic behaviour which includes our staff being falsely accused of homophobia – nothing could be further from the truth. We will not be silenced by these self-serving attacks and we will vigorously defend the channel and our presenters’ freedom of speech rights.”
Mr Howie also hit back, arguing that his comments were taken out of context and insisting they were intended as satire. “It’s a comedy show,” he said. “Three comedians make jokes as we review the next day’s newspapers.”
GB News said the remarks had been “misrepresented”.
The fresh investigation follows a turbulent period for GB News, which has repeatedly clashed with Ofcom over alleged breaches of broadcasting regulations.
Last week, the regulator withdrew three rulings related to the use of politicians as presenters. It has also dropped an investigation into a programme hosted by Nigel Farage, alongside five other shows featuring politicians across different networks.
In a further boost for GB News, the channel recently won a significant High Court victory against Ofcom. Judges overturned a ruling that it had broken broadcasting rules by airing shows presented by then-Conservative MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg .
However, the network still faces a £100,000 fine from Ofcom over a programme featuring former prime minister Rishi Sunak, which the regulator said breached impartiality rules. GB News is appealing the penalty.
As tensions escalate between the channel and its critics, the latest Ofcom inquiry is set to reignite the debate over freedom of speech, media regulation, and the role of political activism in broadcasting oversight.
