GB News presenter Colin Brazier slams Sky News: ‘Working there was like wearing a straight-jacket’

GB News presenter Colin Brazier has slammed Sky News, saying that working there was like ‘wearing a straight-jacket’.

The broadcaster worked at the channel for 25 years, but announced in March that he was joining GB News to host the debate daytime programme alongside Mercy Muroki.

He was signed up by Andrew Neil for the new channel, and said he’s looking forward to being able to be more open in his new surroundings. 

‘I did feel at Sky that you are wearing a straight-jacket and this is hugely liberating,’ the 53-year-old told the Yorkshire Post about the move.

‘It feels freeing to explore subjects properly and stop pretending that you don’t have an opinion.’

Brazier went on to say that ‘a lot of people have taken a risk coming to what is a start-up’, before adding that joining GB News was a ‘siren call that had to be answered’.

‘I just felt, in common with a lot of people, that existing media outlets are just paying lip-service to wide parts of the country,’ he went on to say.

The presenter was known for hosting Sky News Today alongside Jayne Secker since September 2014. He previously worked at the likes of BBC Radio Leeds, ITV Calendar and The Yorkshire Post.

GB News is the first UK news channel to be launched in 30 years, with former BBC journalist Andrew Neil acting as chairman. It was confirmed that its launch is just a few weeks away, hitting the airwaves on Sunday, June 13.

It plans to broadcast individual programmes and news-based programmes built around its presenting team, instead of being a rolling news channel, and broadcast 24-hours a day.

Neil has said of the channel: ‘GB News is the most exciting thing to happen in British television news for more than 20 years. We will champion robust, balanced debate and a range of perspectives on the issues that affect everyone in the UK, not just those living in the London area.’

Other names signed up to the service include Kirsty Gallacher, who will front GB News’s breakfast programme, alongside hosts including Darren McCaffrey and Rosie Wright, while former The Sun journalist Dan Wootton will present Tonight Live with Dan Wootton five nights a week.

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