On Thursday, Britain's newest channel revealed that, after taking the knee on Tuesday, presenter Guto Harri had breached the channel's standards.
In a statement posted on Twitter, GB News said: "GB News stands four square against racism in all its forms. We do not have a company line on taking the knee. Some of our guests have been in favour, some against. All are anti-racist. We have editorial standards that all GB News journalists uphold. On Tuesday a contributing presenter took the knee live on air and this was an unacceptable breach of our standards. We let both sides of the argument down by oversimplifying a very complex issue."
Friends of Guto Harri told The Guardian: "GB News is becoming an absurd parody of what it proclaimed to be – not defending free speech and combatting cancel culture but replicating it on the far right. Nasty. It’s ridiculous to say he’s breached editorial standards and almost certainly defamatory. In reality it wasn’t a breach of editorial code but ‘sacked for offending the lynch mob’."
Also according to The Guardian, a half hour slot on Wednesday, hosted by Liam Halligan and Gloria De Piero from 1pm to 1.30pm ‘attracted no measurable audience’. 62,000 were watching BBC News at the same time, whilst Sky has 50,000 viewers.
Meanwhile, GB News weekend presenter Alastair Stewart has revealed the he will be off air for a while due to breaking his hip.
It is reported from various sources that a relaunch of the channel is planned for September, with possible changes to the schedule and presenter pairings. The Guardian reports that other management staff are considering their positions.
GB News is available on Sky channel 515.