Longtime British news anchor and executive Andrew Neil is stepping down from his role as lead anchor and chairman of Britain’s conservative news network, GB News. Neil’s resignation comes just three months after launch.
It’s official: I have resigned as Chairman and Lead Presenter of GB News.
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) September 13, 2021
Neil went on a “summer break” in June after anchoring only eight episodes of his primetime politics show. He was reportedly expected back on air at the start of the month. That didn’t happen, and now Neil confirms he won’t be back as anchor at all.
Our Chairman and Presenter Andrew Neil has stepped down from his roles at GB News and will instead appear as a regular guest commentator on our shows.
— GB News (@GBNEWS) September 13, 2021
Why step down from those key roles? According to The Guardian, Neil “was unhappy with technical mistakes, the loss of key staff and its political direction … Neil was outmaneuvered by the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who is now the face of the channel, along with a number of more stridently rightwing hires who lean into culture war issues.”
Speaking of Farage, Neil will appear on his show Monday evening.
Join me on @GBNEWS at 7pm when I speak to Andrew Neil in his new role as contributor and commentator for the channel.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) September 13, 2021
Neil became founding chairman and lead anchor of GB News 12 months ago. Before joining GB News, he called the BBC his work home for 25 years, anchoring Sunday Politics and This Week on BBC One and Daily Politics, Politics Live and The Andrew Neil Show on BBC Two. He left the BBC following the U.S. presidential election last November.
Neil was named editor of The Sunday Times by Rupert Murdoch in 1983, and held the position until 1994. In 1988 he became founding chairman of Sky TV, also part of Murdoch’s News Corp.