GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos traded bitter verbal blows with BBC journalists Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson on the Today programme on Radio 4, claiming the pair were “missing the point” of the disruptor channel’s output.

His remarks came after host Rajan branded the Australian media boss “desperate” for failing to disclose whether production staff or senior management raised concerns regarding on-air comments made by Laurence Fox about a female journalist.

During the ill-tempered interview, Rajan asked Frangopoulos, who used to head up Sky News Australia, whether or not “senior executives” or gallery staff contacted him about Mr Fox’s misogynistic remarks.

The BBC journalist asked: “Ava Evans sent her tweet on the platform we now call X at 10.09pm. So just on timelines, that was around 25 minutes after the words were uttered by Mr Fox, in the intervening period did anyone from the production staff, or in the gallery, or perhaps senior executives on your channel raise any concerns with you?

The GB News boss initially replied that “that is the subject of our investigation at the moment”, sparking an incredulous response from Rajan, who retorted: “Oh come on, come off it, that’s quite desperate isn’t it.

READ MORE GB News insider shares what staff really think of Wootton after chaotic 24 hours

“What I want to know is did you act in response to it kicking off on it on social media after the journalist Ava Evans sent her tweet, or did you respond immediately because someone in the gallery said ‘hang on, we’re a news channel that shouldn’t have gone out’?”

The bespectacled Australian replied: “That process began before that tweet. We were well aware of what was said and we took immediate action off the back of it.

“And what happened after that is subject of what we’re looking into right now, I do not in any way want to prejudice the process which we’ve gone through.”

Earlier in the conversation Frangopoulos said he was “appalled” by Mr Fox’s comments made on Dan Wootton Tonight on September 26.

The actor-turned-TV host rhetorically asked Dan Wootton on Tuesday night, “who would want to shag that?”, referring to PoliticsJOE journalist Ava Evans.

He also dubbed her a “little woman” among other incendiary remarks.

The saga has sparked outrage inside the GB News newsroom, with one insider revealing that if Fox, who has been suspended by the channel, returns there would be “uproar”.

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Later in the BBC interview on September 29, Frangopoulos took both Rajan and his Radio 4 colleague Nick Robinson to task for “missing the point” of GB News.

The British-Indian journalist asked the media boss to justify the Conservative Home Secretary Suella Braverman being interviewed by the Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party and GB News presenter Lee Anderson, on the grounds that the Ashfield MP would not be able to hold the Secretary of State to account.

Frangopoulos hit back, saying in a sarcastic tone: “Oh Amol, this is where you’re missing the whole point about what GB News is about.”

Don’t miss…
Laurence Fox’s full statement as GB News suspend star over disgusting remarks[LATEST]
Veteran facing eviction blasts Johnny Mercer for ‘beers’ with Prince Harry[REVEAL]
How dare they? War heroes fear eviction as Chelsea plan £80m deal[INSIGHT]

Cutting in, Rajan quipped: “That you’re not really about news, you’re really about creating noise?”

The GB News chief exec continued: “We are filling a gap in the landscape, we are not journalism for journalists, we are journalism for people and that is a really big difference.

“The conversations that happen between people like Suella Braverman and Lee Anderson, they are conversations, they are not interviews in the same sense.”

Trying to get the final word of the exchange in, Rajan jibed: “It might be that the gap in the landscape is something other than news.”

Later in the exchange, the host of the BBC podcast Political Thinking, Nick Robison, put a similar question to Frangopoulos.

The Australian responded: “Nick you’re missing the point, GB News has a breadth of content that [Anderson interviewing Braverman] is only just part of it, you know very well that we have got a range of programming on the channel.

“This is not a news bulletin and I’m sorry if you don’t understand the difference between it.”

After the interview finished, Robinson got a final barb in, saying to listeners, tongue-in-cheek: “And coming up next week we’re going to be at the Conservative Party conference but I might see if Lee Anderson wants to do the interviews for me, let’s see if he’s available.”

Source: Read Full Article