Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether People’s Forum: The Prime Minister on GB News breached impartiality rules.
The programme, in which Rishi Sunak took questions from the public in a live Q&A in County Durham on 12 February, has prompted about 500 complaints.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are investigating under rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the broadcasting code which provide additional due impartiality requirements for programmes dealing with matters of major political controversy and major matters relating to current public policy.
“Specifically, rules 5.11 and 5.12 require that an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight in such programmes, or in clearly linked and timely programmes.”
During the broadcast, the presenter Stephen Dixon said the questions to be asked by undecided voters had not been seen in advance by the prime minister or by GB News.
GB News is already being investigated by Ofcom for a number of other shows, including many over impartiality issues.
The issue of political figures such as Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and the Conservative deputy chair, Lee Anderson, presenting topical programmes has also been contentious.
The former pensions minister Esther McVey and backbencher Philip Davies are also presenters on GB News. The former culture secretary Nadine Dorries began hosting a programme on TalkTV before she quit as an MP.
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Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, hosts a show on LBC.
