Ofcom has released updated guidance clarifying how its rules on due accuracy and due impartiality should be applied when politicians are presenting. The regulator states that this change reflects the modern news environment, where bulletins and "news in whatever form" can be found in mixed-genre and current affairs programming. However, it has stepped back from a full prohibition on the genre popularized by GB News.
Following its consultation that began in May – triggered by the High Court’s GB News judgment in February – Ofcom decided against changing the wording of Rule 5.3 itself. Instead, it has updated its Guidance to clarify the boundaries when broadcasters use politicians as presenters in programs that include news items. The revised Guidance to Rule 5.1 now explicitly states that if, for example, an MP presents news within a non-news program, their political status is a relevant factor when Ofcom assesses whether the news was presented with due impartiality.
The updated Guidance to Rule 5.3 also describes “exceptional circumstances” – when a politician could be used as a newsreader/interviewer/reporter in a news program – as situations outside a broadcaster’s control, which Ofcom expects to be rare and supported by contingency plans. Ofcom has also updated its definition of “politician”, adding members of the House of Lords and party “representatives” while removing “activists.”
The regulator’s move follows a period of intense scrutiny of politician-fronted output, especially on GB News. Several investigations were launched, but many were later overturned or withdrawn after GB News's successful judicial review in February 2025, which clarified that Rule 5.3, as drafted, applies to "news programmes," not current affairs shows. According to Ofcom, "if, for example, an MP presents news within a non-news programme, their political status is a relevant factor when Ofcom assesses whether the news was presented with due impartiality."