GB News producers allegedly ordered journalist Michael Crick out of the studio during a discussion about media censorship after he hit out at the channel’s perceived right-wing bias.
Former Coast presenter Neil Oliver, now an anchor on GB News, criticised “a discussion about censorship being censored” as he confirmed the on-air segment was “brought abruptly to a close by others”.
Mr Crick, a former BBC and Channel 4 News journalist, was appearing on Mr Oliver’s show on Saturday night alongside fringe former London mayoral candidate Brian Rose.
“I’ve been fighting bias in television for a very long time,” Mr Crick had said when asked about past remarks suggesting that GB News should be shut down.
“It’s one of the reasons I left Channel 4 News, because I thought it was left-wing biased. I think Ofcom, one of the weakest institutions on the planet, should get a grip on you lot.
“It’s absurd, that you have Tory MP after Tory MP, two leaders of the Brexit Party [as hosts] and hardly any Labour MPs. The rules in this country are very clear.”
After Mr Oliver suggested the channel had “made space for all kinds of voices,” Mr Crick responded: “When Nigel Farage takes the week off, who replaces him but the leader of Reform UK. You’ve got Jacob Rees-Mogg, you’ve got Phillip Davies…”
The channel then cut to an ad break mid-sentence – with Mr Crick and Mr Rose no longer present in the studio when the show returned.
On social media, Mr Crick alleged he had been “expelled” from the studio by a producer during the break.
He claimed: “During a break, an angry producer of the programme marched in and said ‘Out’, and pointing at me, ‘You, Out!’
“He said I’d refused to ‘move on’, in terms of topic. Gosh he was furious. So anyway, I left.”
Mr Oliver referenced the incident when the programme returned, telling viewers: “I will say right now, without any input from anyone else, that I’m very disappointed about the sequence of events that just unfolded.
“The last thing I want to see during a conversation between grown-ups about censorship is that conversation being brought abruptly to a close by others. I feel that that conversation should have gone on to its conclusion. That’s the situation in which I find myself, I don’t stand by censorship.”
During a further discussion, he reflected on “a talk about censorship being censored,” adding: “It was a strange experience for me, but there we go.”
The only remaining panellist Laura Dodsworth said it was “a shame” the conversation had ended “abruptly,” but added: “Michael Crick was being quite boorish… it wasn’t really a two-way exchange, he was fixating on one issue.”
GB News was contacted for comment.
