Odd for Tory colleagues to be ‘swanning off’ to host GB News shows, says MP

Commons Women and Equalities Committee chair Caroline Nokes criticised her Conservative colleagues.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the Tory MPs who host GB News shows (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Archive)

Tory MP Caroline Nokes has criticised a number of her Conservative colleagues for “swanning off” to host shows on GB News.

The Commons Women and Equalities Committee chair said it is “very odd” for colleagues such as Lee Anderson and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg to have presenting gigs while they have a “day job to do”.

Ms Nokes was highly critical of the broadcaster after it aired “blatantly misogynistic, outdated, hideous attitudes” displayed by Dan Wootton and Laurence Fox.

GB News has suspended the pair after Fox attacked journalist Ava Evans by saying “Who would want to shag that?” as he elicited laughs from Wootton.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Ms Nokes urged the communications regulator to investigate.

“I was appalled by a news channel broadcasting such blatantly misogynistic, outdated, hideous attitudes,” she said.

“I think there is a really serious case to answer and I hope that Ofcom can conclude its investigations as swiftly as possible.

“I think it should be taken off air, it was entirely predictable that Laurence Fox was going to come out with a statement that was that offensive.”

But she was also critical of her colleagues who have their own lucrative gigs presenting on GB News.

“I think it’s a very odd relationship to be quite frank and I don’t go on any of their shows,” she said.

“From my perspective if you’re a Member of Parliament you have a day job to do, getting on with the work you have in the House of Commons and not swanning off, and in some cases several times a week, to present a show on a television channel.”

Mr Anderson, the deputy Tory party chair, former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob are joined by Philip Davies and Esther McVey as Tory MPs presenting on GB News.

Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries also faced criticism for hosting a TalkTV show before standing down as an MP.

Ofcom has previously found that an interview married presenters Ms McVey and Mr Davies did with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on GB News breached impartiality rules.

Sir Jacob’s show is also under investigation for allegedly twice breaching the “politicians as presenters” rule which means “no politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified”.