Andrew Neal exits GB News, raising uncertainty over the channel’s future

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Veteran broadcaster Andrew Neal has resigned as chairman and presenter of GB News just three months after the channel first aired, the clearest sign yet of friction at the right-leaning British television station.

GB News confirmed Neil’s departure on Monday after people close to the channel said the 72-year-old journalist’s relations with the station’s chief executive, Angelos Frangopoulos, had broken down.

Neil’s departure raised questions about the future of the station and its other presenters. The leading role of the media heavyweight helped persuade other notable television figures to take part in the project, including former BBC journalist Simon McCoy and Kirsty Gallacher, formerly of Sky Sports News.

His exit signaled tension between those in the Channel, led by Neal, who believed he should be the center-right but the main alternative to BBC and Sky, and another faction eager for a more populist approach.

GB News has made a series of changes to its schedule, including the appointment of Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party, as lead presenter. Broadcasters who have expressed skepticism about the coronavirus shutdown were included, such as political commentator Patrick Christis and comedian Mark Dolan.

Since the channel’s launch, the channel has been hit with technical errors and other production problems that have caused more friction.

“I am sorry to go but have concluded that it was time to scale back my commitments on a number of fronts. Over the summer I had time to reflect on my broad range of interests and decided it was time to scale back,” Neil said in a statement.

He added, “I wish GB News continued fulfillment of its founding promise and mission to reach audiences that currently lack the services of current news broadcasters.”

Neil left the BBC last year to head GB News, and among its investors are US media group Discovery. He also presented a primetime news and political program.

But the station’s launch in June was fraught with problems, and two weeks later Neil took a break from his slot and hasn’t appeared on the channel since.

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GB News said, “Andrew is without a doubt one of the best journalists and interviewees in this country. GB News thanks him for his leadership, wisdom and advice for 12 months and we wish him well.”

The station added that Neil will contribute to GB News “as a regular guest commentator.”

Neil was the founding president of Rupert Murdoch’s Sky TV and former editor of the Sunday Times before becoming a prominent political presenter at the BBC.

At the time of GB News’ launch, he promised that it would present an anti-establishment ethos that would challenge the orthodoxy of UK news broadcasting.

Meanwhile, he also said that the station would not be home to “fake news, lies, misinformation, distortion of facts and conspiracy theories”.

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