The word ‘unhinged’ might not even cut it this time – and even the GB News panel was left flummoxed by what Hilary Fordwich had to say on Friday evening. The former head of business development for KPMG openly called for all asylum seekers in the UK ‘to be castrated’, shocking others in the debate.
ALSO READ: Ofcom launches GB News probe after guest appears to link Pride parades to paedophilia
GB News guest horrifies panel with ‘bonkers’ comment
The astounding comment was eventually passed off a joke by host Ben Leo – though no such assertion was made in the immediate aftermath by Fordwich herself. She claimed that the move would ‘pre-emptively deal with rape cases’ linked to asylum seekers, and act as a deterrent:
“We need to have more deterrents. Actually, given the precedents of these men and what has been done in our nation, what if we were to say anyone seeking asylum here needs to be castrated, due to all the rapes that have been committed. That certainly would be a deterrent.” | Hilary Fordwich
Leo made attempts to push back against the remarks, asserting that it was a ‘bonkers’ idea and that ‘not all asylum seekers are rapists’. A haze of confusion briefly descended upon the participants, before the anchor eventually moved the conversation back towards its original topic of Labour’s misogyny taskforce.
Unfortunately for GB News, there may be trouble brewing. The activist media group NewsCord has launched a series of complaints against the channel following Fordwich’s appearance, and encouraged others to file a complaint via a link on their site. A live counter claims 450 people have followed suit so far.
OFCOM urged to investigate Hilary Fordwich remarks
They are now imploring OFCOM to investigate the channel, arguing that several rules of broadcasting were breached during the exchange. Of course, GB News are certainly no strangers to an OFCOM probe – and NewsCord have laid down the gauntlet to the watchdog:
“No correction or apology was broadcast in the exchange. We have drafted one complaint template to Ofcom under Rules 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3. This is an open-and-shut case. If OFCOM refuses to act yet again, it is evidence that they are not fit for purpose.” | NewsCord