Ofcom to investigate Channel 4 cash-for-access sting at broadcaster’s behest
Broadcasting regulator Ofcom is to investigate a cash-for-access investigation conducted jointly by Channel 4 and The Telegraph after the two subjects of the sting; former foreign secretaries Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw were cleared of any breach of rules regulating paid lobbying.
The probe is being launched at Channel 4’s own request after the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said that the politicians had been ‘damaged’ by the affair, which would have been avoided if Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Telegraph had ‘accurately reported’ the covertly filmed exchanges.
This prompted Sir Malcolm to accuse the media of ‘misleading the public’ whilst Straw claimed to have been ‘fully vindicated’.
Despite the findings both partners in the operation have defended their journalism, alleging a conflict of interest in asking Parliament to investigate its own members in justifying the call to bring in the regulator.
In a combative statement a Channel 4 spokesman said: “This programme raised important questions which concern voters about how senior politicians are able to use their public office for personal financial gain. This is a matter of public interest and was a legitimate journalistic investigation.
"We're confident in our journalism and have decided to take the unprecedented step of inviting our statutory regulator Ofcom to investigate it.
"Full transcripts of the interviews are in the public domain and we are in the process of making the programme available on All4, our online platform, to enable people to make up their own minds."