GB News pulled a programme presented by Laurence Fox after he refused to apologise for his “unacceptable” comments about a female journalist.
Right-wing British television channel GB News has suspended one of its presenters over comments he made live on air about a female reporter.
Laurence Fox made a series of remarks about journalist Ava Evans, the political correspondent for online news site Joe, during an episode of Dan Wootton Tonight on Tuesday.
Responding to comments Evans made on the BBC in a panel discussion about whether there should be a minister for men, Fox said she had been “spoon-fed oppression”.
“Show me a single, self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman,” he added.
In response, Evans posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, “Laurence Fox just did a whole speech on GB News on why men apparently won’t shag me?”
She said in a follow-up post that Fox’s comments made her feel “physically sick”.
British broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said it had received complaints and had launched an investigation.
GB News described the comments as “unacceptable”. It said it had suspended Laurence Fox, who also hosts a show on the station, and would apologise to Evans.
Meanwhile, in a lengthy post on X, Dan Wootton said he was in “no way amused by the comments” and reacted as he did “out of shock”. He also sent an apology post to Evans, stating “this is not what our channel is about”.
However, Laurence Fox has doubled down, stating that he stood by “every word of what I said” and accusing the channel of “capitulating to the mob”.
GB News has proved controversial in the UK. While newspapers are free to express views as they wish, broadcasters in the country must meet strict broadcasting rules and demonstrate “due impartiality”.
It’s been the subject of multiple investigations by Ofcom into areas such as whether its programming has met its broadcasting code.
The watchdog recently found that GB News breached impartiality rules after the chancellor was interviewed by MPs from his own Conservative Party.
It stated the programme was “overwhelmingly reflective of the viewpoints of different strands of opinion within the Conservative Party”.
Source: Euro News
