Dan Wootton No Longer Being Investigated over Sexual Assault Allegations

THE TELEGRAPH: Met Police to take no further action after GB News host accused of using online pseudonym to offer money to colleagues for explicit material

Dan Wootton remains suspended over his programme in which he and his guest, Laurence Fox, made remarks about Ava Evans | CREDIT: GB NEWS
Police have dropped their investigation into Dan Wootton, the GB News presenter, over alleged sexual offences.

Wootton, 40, was accused of using an online pseudonym to offer thousands of pounds to colleagues in exchange for explicit material.

The Metropolitan Police said that it had been contacted in June 2023 with allegations of sexual offences committed by a man in his 40s.

A spokesman said: “Officers assessed all information available to establish whether any criminal offence has taken place.

“An investigation was commenced into these allegations. All parties involved have now been advised that no further action will be taken. There were no arrests during the investigation.”

Wootton said he had also been cleared in a second investigation conducted by Police Scotland. » | Anita Singh, Entertainment Editor | Wednesday, February 21, 2024 [£]

Boris Johnson to Join GB News as Presenter

THE GUARDIAN: Former prime minister likely to receive a high six-figure sum for role at channel, which already features Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lee Anderson

Boris Johnson says he will share his ‘unvarnished views’ on international politics and the future of the UK. Photograph: Carla Carniel/Reuters
Boris Johnson is taking a paid job as a presenter for GB News, joining Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage on the controversial rightwing channel.

The former prime minister was announced as a presenter on Friday. GB News said he would play a key role in the channel’s coverage of the UK general election and the US elections next year.

His salary was not disclosed, but he is likely to receive a six-figure sum. Rees-Mogg is paid £350,000 a year and the Tory deputy chair, Lee Anderson, gets £100,000 a year from the channel.

GB News is jointly owned by hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall and Legatum, a Dubai-based investment firm co-founded by GB News chair Alan McCormick. Marshall is said to be putting together a bid to buy the Daily Telegraph, a former employer of Johnson. » | Rowena Mason, Whitehall editor | Friday, October 27, 2023

It’s a sad day when GB News is quoted »

GB News Suspends Dan Wootton after Laurence Fox’s Remarks on Show

THE GUARDIAN: Broadcaster says it is conducting full investigation after also suspending Fox

GB News presenter Dan Wootton. Photograph: Gemma Gravett/GB News/PA
GB News has suspended the presenter Dan Wootton as the channel struggles to contain the fallout after misogynistic comments made on his show by Laurence Fox.

The rightwing news channel said on Wednesday: “GB News has suspended Dan Wootton following comments made on his programme by Laurence Fox last night. This follows our decision earlier today to formally suspend Mr Fox. We are conducting a full investigation.”

GB News has refused repeatedly to investigate Wootton over separate, unrelated, allegations that he used the pseudonym Martin Branning to send sexually explicit messages to former colleagues.

Wootton, 40, is already facing investigations by both MailOnline, which has suspended him, and his former employers at News UK over these historical claims. As a result he is now being investigated by three separate media groups over a variety of issues. » | Jim Waterson, Media editor | Wednesday, September 27, 2023

GB News Will Not Investigate Claims against Presenter Dan Wootton

THE GUARDIAN: Journalist accused of using pseudonym to solicit sexual images from former colleagues at the Sun

GB News has said it will not investigate claims of inappropriate behaviour made against star presenter Dan Wootton because none of the accusations relate to his work for the channel.

Wootton, who has a nightly show on the rightwing news channel, has been accused of using a pseudonym to solicit explicit images from former colleagues at the Sun over many years. The presenter has not directly denied the allegations but says he is the victim of a smear campaign by unknown forces who want to shut down his political views.

The GB News chief executive, Angelos Frangopoulos, told the culture select committee he is monitoring “serious allegations” against his primetime presenter but “none of these allegations have been admitted or proved by an independent body”. » | Jim Waterson, Media editor | Thursday, September 21, 2023

News UK Hires Lawyers to Look at Claims against Former Sun Columnist

THE GUARDIAN: Dan Wootton accused of offering Sun colleagues tens of thousands of pounds for sexual material

Wootton remains on air at GB News, where he delivered a six-minute monologue responding to the claims on Tuesday night. Photograph: Gemma Gravett/GB News/PA
The Sun’s parent company has hired external lawyers to help investigate “very serious” allegations regarding Dan Wootton’s time at the tabloid, the Guardian has been told.

Wootton is facing allegations he used a pseudonym to secretly offer current and former Sun colleagues tens of thousands of pounds in return for sexual material[.]

Rupert Murdoch’s News UK asked staff to contact its most senior lawyer if they have any information regarding the claims. They promised that all information would be treated in confidence, offered counselling services to anyone affected, and asked employees not to talk to journalists while inquiries were under way. Employees were told: “The matters reported are obviously very serious and include allegations that certain actions of Mr Wootton may have affected some members of staff at the Sun.”

A source at News UK said the company had also employed external legal counsel to advise and assist with its investigation. » | Jim Waterson and Emine Sinmaz | Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Related.

Sun and Mail Publishers Examine Claims against Journalist Dan Wootton

THE GUARDIAN: GB News presenter facing allegations he inappropriately offered colleagues large sums in return for sexual material

Many of the allegations against Dan Wootton relate to the time when he was employed by the Sun. Photograph: Gemma Gravett/GB News/PA
The publishers behind the Sun and MailOnline are looking into allegations that Dan Wootton inappropriately offered colleagues tens of thousands of pounds in return for sexual material.

Wootton’s ex-boyfriend claimed last week that Wootton, who is now a presenter on GB News, used the pseudonym “Martin Branning” and offered individuals large sums of money in return for filming themselves carrying out sex acts.

Alex Truby alleged he made the discovery after accessing Wootton’s hard drive in 2013 and seeing emails mentioning the pseudonym.

On Monday, the website Byline Times went further and published a story claiming that an anonymous “trusted former colleague” of the GB News anchor had come forward to say Wootton used the Branning name. The Guardian has not been able to independently establish the link between Branning and Wootton. » | Jim Waterson, Media editor | Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Dan Wootton: GB News host admits 'errors of judgement': Broadcaster Dan Wootton has admitted making "errors of judgement in the past" but denied any criminality as he responded to claims made against him. »

Watch: Dan Wootton admits ‘errors of judgment’ but claims he is victim of ‘witch hunt’: GB News presenter addresses allegations he offered media colleagues thousands of pounds for explicit material »

Conspiracy Theories, Moggologues and ‘Zombie’ Stats: All in a Week’s Work for GB News

THE GUARDIAN: Deliberately provocative channel – with numerous Tory MP hosts – is planting its flag on the radical right of UK politics

The former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has his own show, with one panel including his own sister. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Rishi Sunak came to power in an “anti-democratic coup,” and is in hock to a shadowy “globalist elite”; mass migration is “replacing” British culture, and net zero is a “suicide note” – not the rantings of an internet troll, but a snapshot of views espoused by presenters on GB News across seven days last week.

The Guardian watched a week’s worth of output from the upstart rightwing channel in an attempt to understand the worldview at work – and how GB News gets away with sailing so close to the wind.

Since the broadcasting veteran Andrew Neil quit as chair three months after the channel’s launch, complaining that he was in “a minority of one” about its direction, GB News has increasingly planted its flag on the radical right of British politics. » | Heather Stewart | Wednesday, May 24, 2023

We shouldn’t be surprised. Given enough time, cancer metastasizes. – Mark

Guto Harri Quits GB News as Nigel Farage Is Given Prime-Time Show

GB News presenter Guto Harri taking the knee. He formally resigned on Sunday. Photograph: GB News
THE GUARDIAN: Former BBC journalist vents anger at rightwing channel for suspending him after taking a knee on air

Guto Harri has quit GB News after he was suspended for taking the knee during a discussion about racism towards black footballers.

The former BBC news journalist had been taken off air by the rightwing news channel, but there was talk of him returning at some point.

On Sunday he vented his anger at the channel, describing it as “rapidly becoming an absurd parody of what it proclaimed to be”. At the same time it emerged that the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was being hired by GB News to host a nightly prime-time show.

By Sunday afternoon it became clear that Harri had formally quit the channel. In his resignation letter, seen by the Guardian, he writes that he signed up “in good faith and with genuine enthusiasm”. » | Mark Brown | Sunday, July 18, 2021

GB News Turns to Nigel Farage as Its Saviour after Ratings Freefall

Nigel Farage has already been a guest on the newly launched TV channel GB News. Its main host, Andrew Neil, is currently off air. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
THE OBSERVER: TV station also hit by internal dispute over its direction after Guto Harri dropped for ‘taking the knee’

Nigel Farage is to take centre stage at GB News in a victory for the rightwing faction at the beleaguered television channel. The former leader of Ukip is to host a nightly primetime show from Monday as part of a reboot of programming designed to attract more viewers.

The new channel is facing plummeting viewing figures and a split in management between those angling to keep broader-based regional news coverage and those planning to boost coverage of the “culture wars”.

And, if a bigger helping of Farage is not enough to entice audiences, another famous potential saviour could be on hand soon. Piers Morgan, who left Good Morning Britain in March, may step into a high-profile role on the new TV channel. Morgan, 56, is in protracted negotiations with management but must first deal with his contractual ties to ITV.

Farage made his announcement on Twitter on Saturday, urging his followers to “be there or be square”. Farage said he would not be taking the knee “for anyone”, a reference to the controversy that sparked last week’s viewer boycott. » | Vanessa Thorpe | Saturday, July 17, 2021

Brands Pull Ads from GB News TV Channel over Content Concerns

THE GUARDIAN: Ikea, Grolsch and Kopparberg have suspended adverts due to station’s perceived conflict with their values

GB News, the television channel that launched this week with backing from pro-Brexit tycoons and a mission to produce “anti-woke” US-style news content, is facing an advertiser backlash after big consumer brands including Ikea, Nivea and Grolsch said they would pull their adverts from the network.

Fronted by a clutch of familiar names including the former BBC and Sky presenters Andrew Neil and Kirsty Gallacher, GB News, which launched on Sunday evening, is pitching itself as an alternative to the mainstream media with a focus on generating opinion and controversy, rather than original reporting.

However, activists are already calling for boycotts of brands that advertise on the channel, on the grounds that they believe it is hoping to monetise divisive political issues and to push the boundaries of UK TV news regulations, which require politically balanced broadcasts. » | Jasper Jolly | Tuesday, June 15, 2021

How GB News is bringing US-style opinionated TV news to the UK »