After weeks of speculation, Andrew Neil is to officially stand aside from GB News.
The chairman and presenter had left his role as the BBC’s leading political interviewer to join the political opinion channel, but took a break in June just two weeks after the channel’s troubled launch.
He will continue to contribute to GB News as a regular guest commentator on the channel.
Said Andrew Neil: “I am sorry to go but I have concluded it’s time to reduce my commitments on a number of fronts. Over the summer I’ve had time to reflect on my extensive portfolio of interests and decided it was time to cut back.
“I wish GB News well in continuing to fulfil its founding promise and mission to reach audiences currently underserved by existing news broadcasters.”
In response GB News said: “Andrew is without doubt one of the finest journalists and interviewers in this country. GB News thanks him for his 12 months of leadership, wisdom and advice and we wish him well.”
GB News, which is perceived to be right-leaning, and claims to give a voice to those excluded by traditional media, was dogged by technical problems since following its launch on 13th June.
It was launched by veteran telecommunications executives Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider. Discovery Inc, Legatum and Sir Paul Marshall are also investors.
The intention was to provide an alternative to the perceived left wing bias of the UK’s broadcast media – the country’s newspapers are firmly to the right.
But rather than the promised contributions from people supposedly excluded from other outlets, the robust interviewing style of Andrew Neil has given way to familiar faces such as the former UKIP politician Nigel Farage and suggestions of a UK equivalent to Fox News.
