What's happened
The Liberal Democrats have requested an investigation into alleged bias in GB News' coverage of the Post Office scandal, focusing on attacks on Sir Ed Davey and alleged oversight of Tory MPs' role in the scandal.
Why it matters
This story is significant as it highlights concerns about media bias and the portrayal of political figures in the coverage of a major scandal, potentially impacting public perception and trust in news sources.
What the papers say
The Guardian highlights the Liberal Democrats' concerns about GB News' failure to highlight the role of Conservative politicians in the scandal, while The Independent focuses on the Lib Dems' allegations of breaches of accuracy and impartiality rules by GB News. BBC News provides additional context on the Post Office scandal and Labour's accusations against the Conservatives.
How we got here
The Post Office scandal involves the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters due to faults in the Horizon software. The coverage has sparked criticism of political figures' handling of the scandal.
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GB News is an upcoming British television news channel due to launch early in 2021 on Freeview, Sky, YouView, Freesat and Virgin Media. Its chairman is Andrew Neil.
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Sir Edward Jonathan Davey FRSA MP is a British politician serving as Acting Co-Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 13 December 2019. He has been the Member of Parliament for Kingston and Surbiton since 2017, and previously from 1997 until 2015. Davey is
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Jacob William Rees-Mogg is a British politician serving as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council since 2019, and who has served as Member of Parliament for North East Somerset since 2010.
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The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.