Jon Gaunt loses high court challenge against Ofcom

Shock jock and presenter of online radio station Sun Talk Jon Gaunt has lost his high court challenge against Ofcom.

Last year industry regulator Ofcom said Gaunt had breached its Broadcasting Code with his use of "offensive" language and material in an interview on TalkSPORT in 2008.

Gaunt was later sacked from the radio station following the live interview with councillor Michael Stark, who he called an "ignorant pig" and "health nazi". The incident generated 53 complaints to the industry regulator.

No sanction or penalty was imposed on TalkSPORT or Gaunt, but in January the presenter announced plans to challenge the ruling in the high court with the backing of human rights organisation Liberty, claiming that Ofcom's ruling infringed his right to freedom of speech under Article 10 of the Human Rights Convention.

But in a judgement handed down today, the high court described the interview as a "rant", which was both "offensive and abusive".

"The broadcast was undoubtedly highly offensive to Mr Stark and was well capable of offending the broadcast audience. The essential point is that, the offensive and abusive nature of the broadcast was gratuitous, having no factual content or justification," says the judgement.

Ofcom's ruling was not an interference with Gaunt's freedom of expression, it adds.

"We were perfectly happy for this case to be taken to Court to review the way in which we interpret our statutory duties," says Ed Richards, Ofcom's chief executive, in a release.

"We are very pleased that the high court has recognised that we came to the right decision in this case. This is a thorough endorsement of our judgement in what was a difficult case.

"Parliament has given Ofcom the duty of applying generally accepted standards to television and radio services, which we always aim to do in a way that respects the important principles of freedom of expression whilst at the same time protecting audiences from unjustified offensive and harmful material."

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