Ofcom has reportedly ‘dismissed’ more than 21,000 complaints against a series of anti-trans segments aired by TalkTV.

The media regulator allegedly told legal group Good Law Project, who raised the concerns on behalf of the complainants, that the Rupert Murdoch-owned television channel didn’t raise “substantive issues” in its anti-trans segments.

In July, 21,795 people joined a campaign calling for Ofcom officials to investigate 11 segments on trans rights, which were broadcast on an array of TalkTV’s news & opinion programmes.

In just four weeks, between 16 June and 14 July, the right-leaning news and opinion channel reportedly featured at least 11 guests espousing anti-trans talking points across several of its shows. Conversely, it did not feature a single trans or pro-trans guest.

During one programme, on 21 June, TalkTV host Alex Phillips suggested that trans rights groups know that “giving children puberty blockers was evil,” while during another programme on 1 July, Kevin O’Sullivan accused a trans woman of trying to “pretend that he’s a female.”

Just a few days later, Julia Hartley-Brewer suggested that: “By definition, if you’ve had to get a piece of paper to say that you are a woman, you must accept then that you are a man.”

In one segment, a guest said respecting trans people’s basic human rights is a “mutual mass delusion,” while one of its hosts described all trans women as “hulking great perverts.”

Another segment in June saw TalkTV host Alex Phillips suggest that prescribing puberty blockers was “evil.”

Campaigners urged Ofcom to investigate TalkTV’s “torrent of transphobic hate,” arguing its segments on trans rights violate the regulator’s Broadcasting Code – a set of standards that all UK broadcasters must follow by law.

According to a leaked email, shared by Good Law Project, a spokesperson for the regulator refused to investigate the accusations, arguing they did “not raise substantive issues warranting further investigation.”

It dismissed accusations that TalkTV violated the Broadcasting Code’s clause on due impartiality, arguing that the programmes which aired the segments were “not ‘news’,” and so were, in the regulator’s view, protected under freedom of expression laws in Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

“As a result, and reflecting Article 10, it is an editorial matter for the broadcaster as to how due impartiality is preserved, as long as the Code is complied with,” the letter continued.

Good Law Project have condemned the decision as a “dereliciton of duty,” vowing to challenge Ofcom on its outcome should the regulator refuse to investigate the matter further.

“We have instructed a team of barristers and are in continued correspondence with ofcom, seeking answers,” the group said in a statment. “If those answers are unsatisfactory, we intend to challenge Ofcom’s decision to whitewash TalkTV’s transphobia in court.”

Ofcom confirmed the letter’s legitimacy to PinkNews. A spokesperson said the regulator understands the “strength of feeling about the issues raised by complainants” and its officials had “carefully assessed a range of the programmes on this channel against our rules.”

They added: “Taking into account the right to freedom of expression and all contextual factors for each programme – including the expectations of the audience – we did not consider these programmes warranted further investigation.”

Responding, a spokesperson from Good Law Project reiterated its condemnation of Ofcom’s decision, adding that TalkTV’s narrative on trans issues is “putting the trans community at risk.”

“We are in active conversations with our lawyers about litigating Ofcom’s failure to take action.”

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