Ofcom ends probe into Dan Wootton's GB News show

An investigation into an episode of Dan Wootton's GB News show last year, in which he claimed he had been the target of a smear campaign, has been discontinued by Ofcom.

Wootton said on the show, broadcast on 18 July 2023, that claims he had used a pseudonym and offered colleagues money for sexual material were "simply untrue".

He acknowledged he had made "errors of judgment in the past", but denied "criminal allegations".

The journalist left the channel in March to set up his own independent platform.

Ofcom was investigating the episode under fairness and privacy adjudications.

In a statement, the regulator said: "We discontinued a fairness and privacy complaint about this programme.

"In line with our published procedures given the nature of fairness and privacy cases, we will not be commenting further."

Posting on X, Wootton said he was part of a "witch hunt" that was "always designed to destroy my mainstream media career and GB News".

"GB News is a shell of its former self," he wrote, adding that he has "never been happier".

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The 41-year-old broadcaster parted company with GB News in March, a day after media regulator Ofcom found that another episode of his show broke its broadcasting rules.

He was suspended by the channel in September after comments by actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox about a female journalist prompted 8,867 complaints to the watchdog.

Ofcom said Fox's remarks "were clearly and unambiguously misogynistic".

Neither Fox or Wootton said sorry while on air after the comments were made, but they did subsequently offer apologies.

GB News has been contacted for comment.