Oral Answers to Questions

Danny Beales Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephanie Peacock]

Cricket is incredibly popular, and I know how important it is in my own constituency—I visited Worsbrough to see the England and Wales Cricket Board’s schools programme in action. Programmes like that are incredibly important for getting people, and in particular young people, involved and active in sport.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

T4. This summer, 1.5 million people attended London Pride, a celebration of love, freedom and diversity. At the same time, though, discussions on GB News compared Pride and LGBT people to bestiality and even paedophilia. There have now been 12,000 complaints to Ofcom about this. Does the Minister agree that these sorts of comments have no place on an apparent news channel? Will she assure me and those who have complained that Ofcom will be effective in challenging hate speech on television?

[The Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Ian Murray)]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this incredibly serious question to DCMS questions this morning. There is no place for homophobia or prejudice in our society, and the media has a duty to uphold the highest standards, not polarise or divide. I understand that Ofcom is investigating whether the programme has breached broadcasting code standards, and I expect it to do so without fear or favour. Through our media Green Paper, we are considering how to ensure Ofcom has the right powers to protect audiences and regulate TV services in the future. We have a proud free media and free press in this country, but that does not come without responsibilities, and GB News should be thoroughly ashamed of itself.