Laurence Fox’s comments about Ava Evans on GB News broke Ofcom rules

Ofcom has ruled that Laurence Fox’s “misogynistic” comments about journalist Ava Evans on Dan Wootton’s GB News show broke broadcasting rules that protect “viewers from offensive content”.

The remarks made by actor-turned-politician Mr Fox, in which he asked “who would want to shag that?” about political correspondent Ms Evans during an episode on 26 September, received 8,867 complaints.

Mr Fox and presenter Mr Wootton, who both later apologised, were suspended by the channel after the broadcast. Mr Fox was later sacked.

During the broadcast, Mr Fox called Ms Evans a “little woman” and went on to say: “Show me a single self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman ever, ever, who wasn’t an incel.

“We need powerful, strong amazing women who make great points for themselves. We don’t need these sort of feminist 4.0. They’re pathetic and embarrassing. Who’d want to shag that?”

Ofcom said: “An Ofcom investigation today concluded that an episode of Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News broke broadcasting rules designed to protect viewers from offensive content.”

In a ruling, it said his comments “constituted a highly personal attack on Ms Evans and were potentially highly offensive to viewers”.

“They reduced her contribution to a broadcast discussion on mental health – in her professional capacity as a political journalist – to a judgment on whether she, or women like her, who publicly expressed their political opinions, were sexually desirable to men”, it added.

The media watchdog also found Mr Wootton’s reaction and “limited challenge” in response “did not mitigate the potential for offence”.

It added: “Rather, they exacerbated it by contributing to the narrative in which a woman’s value was judged by her physical appearance.”