Speeches by Reader.

“We have heard clearly during our inquiry that there is a drop in trust in the media and what some would call mainstream media. Do you think that Ofcom has been an effective regulator to support trust in the media? Surely one of the key functions of a regulator is to maintain trust in the services that it regulates.”

“That is about 2 million people in the UK. Given Ofgem’s responsibility for protecting consumers, what are you doing to protect people who receive misinformation and deepfakes about climate and energy, which is in your remit? Can you give us specific things you are doing in that area?”

“So you are post-broadcast but you have to wait for a complaint before you can review. You are not proactively reviewing post-broadcast, particularly where there are outlets, such as GB News, that are very clearly biased in one direction or another.”

“What we have just heard from you, Laura, is that Ofcom’s regulatory approach is to wait for a complaint. Is that effective regulation in the current media environment?”

“I just want to clarify something with Ian. I think you said 40% of adults have experienced misinformation and deepfakes, but only 4% experienced misinformation and deepfakes related to climate and energy. Is that right?”

“And Chris?”

“And Chris?”

“Last time, Chris, you said you would not do this job if you did not believe 2030 was achievable. Ben, is Clean Power 2030 still achievable?”

“Last time, Chris, you said you would not do this job if you did not believe 2030 was achievable. Ben, is Clean Power 2030 still achievable?”

“Affordability has repeatedly been identified as a decisive factor in public support. Chris, you acknowledged that Clean Power 2030 may leave bill payers no poorer rather than materially lower. Are you confident that that is enough to sustain public backing?”

“For your assessment of this case, what do you think, roughly? Are we talking a few months? Are we talking a year?”

“We have seen in the past year a loss of political consensus on the delivery of the Climate Change Act and reaching net zero by 2050, particularly with the policy U-turn from the Conservative party. How does that affect Ofcom’s application of due impartiality on broadcast debates on these issues?”

“At the previous session, you were very candid that there were obstacles that you had not yet stumbled across—I think they were the words you used—and from today’s session and from the evidence, I think political consensus, and probably, in some cases, public support for the energy transition and net zero could be one o…”

“Affordability has repeatedly been identified as a decisive factor in public support. Chris, you acknowledged that Clean Power 2030 may leave bill payers no poorer rather than materially lower. Are you confident that that is enough to sustain public backing?”

“It is interesting that you mentioned batteries, because I understand from the press that batteries have been removed from the future homes standard, so let’s see if that remains or not. This question is to both of you, but perhaps to Chris Stark first. The last time you appeared before the Committee, you described Miss…”

“To clarify, because this inquiry is about building support for the energy transition, we have one regulator that waits for a complaint before it investigates and a second regulator that does not regulate or support consumers in the online space apart from the information that you have rightly described that you put out…”

“At the previous session, you were very candid that there were obstacles that you had not yet stumbled across—I think they were the words you used—and from today’s session and from the evidence, I think political consensus, and probably, in some cases, public support for the energy transition and net zero could be one o…”

“To protect consumers?”

“Typically, is that weeks, months?”

“Is that because it is out of your remit as a regulator?”