Andrew RT Davies reignites Senedd GB News ban row

Emily Price

Wales’ most senior Tory has reignited a row over the banning of GB News from the Senedd, despite the channel still being available to all Senedd Members and their staff.

In a social media post on Monday (July 29) Andrew RT Davies claimed the Senedd had
“permanently banned” the channel and accused the Welsh Parliament of “censorship”.

In the post published to X, he said: “The Senedd has confirmed its @gbnews ban is permanent.

“Not good for a supposedly democratic institution to engage in censorship in this way.

“The Senedd suffered serious reputational damage from the Vaughan Gething scandal and this will do nothing to regain public trust.”

Labour MS Alun Davies hit back at the Welsh Tory leader saying: “If Andrew RT Davies ever turns on his computer then he could use it to watch telly and rant at the news.

“On the other hand he could use his time in the office to work for the people he’s supposed to represent.”

Presiding Officer Elin Jones removed GB News from the Senedd’s internal television system in October.

Offensive

It followed an influx of complaints about the channel after actor-turned-right-wing activist Laurence Fox was sacked over comments he made live on air about a female journalist.

The Senedd’s Llywydd said the “deliberately offensive” broadcast was “demeaning to public debate and contrary to our Parliament’s values”.

The leader of the Senedd Tories later appeared on a special live episode of Farage at Large to discuss Ms Jones’ decision.

He was accused of “misogyny” and an “appalling lack of respect” towards women when he suggested the Llywydd hadn’t appeared on the show beside him because she was “busy doing her hair no doubt”.

There has been mounting concern about the output of GB News, which often screens programmes in which right wing interviewers nod in agreement with the right-wing commentators they are interviewing.

The channel has also been subject to several Ofcom investigations.

Mr Davies’ fresh calls for the channel to be reinstated come just two weeks after the Senedd Commission held a meeting with an independent advisor to discus a new policy on how the internal tv system should work.

Most Senedd Members have a television in their offices to view committee meetings and plenary proceedings.

There is also a small selection of impartial news channels for when a big news event is happening such as a budget or the aftermath of an election.

The Senedd’s new “cost effective” policy is not aimed solely at whether or not GB News should be included on Senedd TVs – but will see the number of channels slimmed down further to just a small handful that Members need to view in order to do their work.

GB News and all other channels are still available on the Senedd’s IT system and always have been – meaning there is nothing stopping an MS from watching any show on a Senedd computer if they wish to do so.

We asked Andrew RT Davies if he was aware he can still watch GB News in the Senedd if he has the time – but we did not receive a response.

A spokesperson for the Senedd Commission said: “Following an independent review, the Senedd Commission has adopted a new policy for its internal television system. Its main purpose is to provide broadcast feeds of Senedd meetings.

“News channels and stations not available through the system remain accessible to Members and their staff online.”