What's happened
Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson is to be paid £100,000 a year for hosting a show on GB News, making him the highest earning of the five Tory MPs who host programmes on the channel.
Why it matters
The employment of Conservative MPs as presenters on GB News raises concerns about impartiality and balance in the media, particularly as news channels and broadcasters are bound by licensing conditions which mean that they do have to provide balance and some impartiality.
What the papers say
The Independent, BBC News, The Telegraph, The Mirror
How we got here
Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison previously hosted a show on GB News but left when she was made a levelling up minister. Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies also host programmes on the channel. Ofcom has warned that Mr Anderson would have to stay impartial while presenting his new TV show ahead of the local elections.
More on these topics
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Lee Anderson is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield since 2019. He previously served as a Labour District Councillor in Ashfield and later defected to the Conservative Party, and served as Conser
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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.
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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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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.