Category Archives: Ofcom

It’s too late to replace Sunak so Tories must ‘march towards the sound of the guns’, Ben Wallace says – as it happened

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Former defence secretary tells colleagues there is no alternative to Rishi Sunak and to ‘get on with’ preparing for an election. This live blog is closed

Ofcom has ruled today that GB News broke impartiality rules on five occasions by using Tory MPs as news presenters.

But it has not imposed sanctions on the broadaster. It says these count as first offence, and that there may be sanctions if it happens again.

Under the Broadcasting Code, news, in whatever form, must be presented with due impartiality. Additionally, a politician cannot be a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, there is editorial justification.

In line with the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters have editorial freedom to offer audiences a wide range of programme formats, including using politicians to present current affairs or other non-news programmes. Politicians may also appear in broadcast news content as an interviewee or any other type of guest.

These are the first breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 recorded against GB News. Since opening these investigations, there has only been one further programme which has raised issues warranting investigation under these rules. We are clear, however, that GB News is put on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction.

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Minister says government working on sanction options for those involved in Alexei Navalny’s death – UK politics live

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Leo Docherty, Foreign Office minister, says government ‘working at pace’ to hold those responsible for Russian opposition leader’s death to account

No 10 has declined to repeat Kemi Badenoch’s claim that the former chair of the Post Office gave an interview “full of lies” about the conversation she had when she sacked him.

At the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson would not adopt the language used by Badenoch in a post on X yesterday and instead claimed that Badenoch believes that the account of what she said given by Henry Staunton is a “misrepresentation”.

Obviously this referred to a conversation that she had with Henry Staunton, and you’ll have seen her words on this; she’s very clear that the interview that he gave was a misrepresentation of her conversation with him and the reasons for his dismissal.

And the government has being clear, and will refute the allegations [that it wanted to slow down compensation to victims]. The government has taken action to speed up the compensation to victims, and we’ve consistently encouraged postmasters to come forward with their claims. Any suggestions otherwise [are] not correct.

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Telegraph takeover decision put back by fresh inquiry into Barclay family’s UAE-backed deal

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Regulators’ reports on public interest risk now due on 11 March after late change in consortium’s structure prompts further review

A second investigation has been launched into the Barclay family’s deal to transfer control of the Telegraph newspaper group, pushing the deadline for regulators’ reports on the public interest threat it poses by more than six weeks.

The UK government moved swiftly to order the second watchdog inquiry after the Barclays’ UAE-backed consortium partner revealed a last-minute corporate structure change.

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Royal Mail could save £650m by moving to three-day-a-week service, says Ofcom

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Regulator sets out possible ways forward in review of requirement to deliver across Britain, six days a week

Royal Mail could save up to £650m if it delivered letters just three days a week and £200m by stopping Saturday deliveries, the communications regulator has said.

The watchdog said a reduction from six to five days a week would save £100m to £200m, and going down to three days would save between £400m and £650m.

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Ofcom to set out possible Royal Mail reforms – and Saturday deliveries could end

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Regulator’s review will look at evidence and options on how universal postal service ‘might need to evolve’

Royal Mail could be allowed to end Saturday postal deliveries as part of Ofcom’s review into how the service may need to be reformed.

Next week, Ofcom will publish a document outlining “potential options for the future of the universal postal service”.

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BT scraps above-inflation price rises for mobile and broadband customers

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UK’s mobile and broadband firms were accused of ‘greedflation’ last year by the Guardian

BT has become the first major telecoms company to scrap controversial above-inflation price rises for mobile and broadband customers – but not before pushing through a final increase this year.

The owner of mobile operator EE has moved to address the pressure on consumers from rising household costs during the cost of living crisis, after telecoms companies were criticised for increasing bills.

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UK minister intends to refer Barclay family’s offer for Telegraph to Ofcom

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Government ‘minded to’ issue intervention notice to call in regulator on public interest grounds

The culture secretary intends to ask the media watchdog to examine the Barclay family’s proposed deal to hand control of the Telegraph and the Spectator magazine to an Abu Dhabi-backed consortium.

Lucy Frazer said on Wednesday she was “minded to” call in Ofcom to look at the investment fund’s plans to take over the titles in exchange for repaying £1.15bn of the family’s debts to Lloyds Banking Group.

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BBC faces broad backlash over cuts to local radio output

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Exclusive: Fallout includes anger from listeners, potential legal action and concerns from Ofcom

The BBC is facing a backlash from listeners, concerns from the regulator Ofcom and potential legal action over controversial cuts to its local radio output.

Complaints have been made about the corporation’s decision to share more programmes across its 39 local stations and about the axeing of presenters.

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Ofcom urged to investigate Virgin Media broadband contracts

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Terms and conditions allow firm to raise bills at any time and by an unlimited amount, Which? claims

Virgin Media is facing calls for the telecoms watchdog to urgently investigate the legality of its broadband contracts, under which it can increase bills at any time and by unlimited amounts.

The consumer champion Which? has concluded that Virgin Media’s terms and conditions may amount to unfair contract terms and could be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act. It has written to Ofcom calling on it to intervene.

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Ofcom investigating BT after disruption to 999 emergency call service

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Telecoms firm, which manages 999 phone system, says it will publish findings of own inquiry on Thursday

The communications watchdog has launched an investigation into BT after technical faults hit the 999 emergency call service on Sunday.

Ofcom said it would look into the incident to find out whether the telecoms company failed to comply with its regulatory duties. Police forces, ambulance services and fire and rescue services across the UK asked people not to phone 999 on Sunday morning due to a “technical fault”.

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Online safety bill: changes urged to allow access to social media data

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Campaigners say bill in ‘serious peril’ of passing without powers to make platforms more transparent

Online safety experts will struggle to sound the alarm about harmful content if landmark legislation does not allow independent researchers to access data from social media platforms, campaigners have warned.

The government is being urged to adopt amendments to the online safety bill enabling researchers to access platform data in order to monitor harmful material. Access would be overseen by Ofcom, the communications watchdog, and would protect user privacy.

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Stop UK mobile and broadband firms ‘lining their pockets’, urge consumer experts

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Companies facing backlash amid warning of mid-contract price rises of up to 17% during cost of living crisis

Britain’s telecoms regulator is being urged to intervene over concerns that mobile and broadband operators are “lining their pockets” with £2.2bn of above-inflation price rises during the cost of living crisis.

While ministers have urged employees to show pay restraint, the mobile phone and broadband firms are facing a consumer backlash as they announce record price increases.

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Tech bosses face jail if children not kept safe online after UK parliament deal

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Rebel Tories drop amendment after ministers agree to make managers criminally liable for persistent breaches of duty of care

Tech executives whose platforms persistently fail to protect children from online harm will face criminal charges after ministers reached a deal with Conservative backbenchers.

Rishi Sunak was facing the prospect of defeat in a Commons vote on Tuesday after a rebel amendment to the online safety bill won opposition support. However, supporters have now withdrawn the amendment after the government agreed to change the legislation.

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Sky could lose £150m a year from plan to relax ad limits on UK’s free-to-air TV

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Ofcom reviews longstanding rules that allow pay-TV companies more ad minutes than public service rivals

The pay-TV provider Sky could lose as much as £150m a year in TV advertising revenue from proposals aimed at enabling the UK’s biggest free-to-air broadcasters to make more money and better compete with streaming services.

The broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, is reviewing historical rules that restrict the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) – ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – from running as many minutes of advertising on their main channels as rivals such as Sky are allowed.

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French regulator called on to withdraw licence allowing CGTN to broadcast from London

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Chinese state broadcaster transmits from Chiswick studio despite Ofcom revoking UK licence last year

France’s media regulator is under pressure to withdraw a licence that allows the Chinese state broadcaster to beam its programmes across Europe from a studio in west London.

Ofcom revoked the organisation’s licence to transmit in the UK last year but the China Global Television Network (CGTN) was able to continue broadcasting following authorisation from the French authority.

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Social media firms face big UK fines if they fail to stop sexist and racist content

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Revised online safety bill proposes fines of 10% of revenue but drops harmful communications offence

Social media platforms that breach pledges to block sexist and racist content face the threat of substantial fines under government changes to the online safety bill announced on Monday.

Under the new approach, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter must also give users the option of avoiding content that is harmful but does not constitute a criminal offence. This could include racism, misogyny or the glorification of eating disorders.

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Broadband customers face up to 14% hike in bills, warns Which?

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BT customers face £113 rise as providers such as EE and TalkTalk prepare controversial ‘inflation-plus’ mechanism

Broadband bills could surge by as much as £113 next year if a number of the UK’s biggest telecoms firms push ahead with inflation-busting price increases next spring, says consumer watchdog Which?

Many of the country’s main internet providers – including the largest player BT, along with TalkTalk, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone – use a mechanism to increase the cost of bills annually by the rate of inflation as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) in January, plus 3.9%.

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BBC staff to publish damning report on planned merger of news channels

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Exclusive: internal concerns raised over effect of proposals as broadcaster seeks to make £500m in savings

The BBC’s plan to merge its two rolling news channels could suffer a setback this week when staff publish a damning report that claims the move will have a negative effect on news coverage across BBC radio, TV and online.

The corporation is also braced for the regulator, Ofcom, to make a key announcement about the proposal, while some charities have already aired their concerns.

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Almost 6m UK households ‘struggling to pay telecoms bills’

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Which? says people are cutting food and clothes spending to pay for mobile, broadband and landline

Almost 6 million UK households are struggling to pay their mobile, landline and broadband bills, with the cost of living squeeze forcing many to cut back on essentials such as food and clothes, cancel or change a service, or miss payments to stay connected.

A report from the consumer group Which? estimates that 5.7 million households have experienced at least one “affordability issue” in April, as cash-strapped homes struggle to cope with soaring bills and other costs.

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Ofcom may extend TV ad breaks in review of broadcasting rules

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Regulator says it may change ad rules in light of growing competition from online streaming platforms

Ofcom has said it may extend the time and frequency allowed for advertising breaks on UK television as part of a review of broadcasting rules.

The regulator said it would consider changing advertising regulations amid market developments including the increasing influence of online streaming services.

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