A FORMER Labour minister has called for the Co-op to withdraw its advertising from GB News, saying the channel’s content is not compatible with social democratic values.
Les Huckfield spoke out after the retailer continued to promote its brand on the station despite a string of other organisations including Ikea and the Open University pulling out.
“There is now a long list of organisations that realise that GB News is not just a right-wing mouthpiece, but also one for those who are anti-lockdown and people who support far right activist Tommy Robinson,” Huckfield told The National. “What is gradually unfolding before our eyes is a UK version of the US channel Fox News which offers a hard-right distorted view of the news every night.”
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Huckfield, who is a member of the Co-operative party, which is aligned to Labour, added: “The Co-op party and the Co-op movement is supposed to have values and they certainly should not be aligning those values with GB TV. GB TV is fundamentally against the kind of values which the whole of the Co-op movement is supposed to stand.”
The Co-op is one of a number of brands called on by pressure group Stop Funding Hate to withdraw its advertising from GB News.
Kopparberg drinks and Nivea skincare have also suspended advertising on the channel pending “further review” of its content.
The channel, which launched on Sunday, includes a “Woke Watch” segment.
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