Eamonn Holmes has sparked over 400 complaints with comments he made about 5G technology and coronavirus, which TV watchdog Ofcom says it will assess as a “priority”.
This Morning’s co-presenter, 60, was criticised by scientists and viewers for remarks he made on the ITV show.
An Ofcom spokeswoman said it had received 419 complaints and told the PA news agency: “We are assessing this programme in full as a priority.”
Holmes, 60, weighed in on the ITV show after presenter Alice Beer branded the conspiracy theories “ridiculous” and “incredibly stupid”.
The broadcaster who was co-presenting with wife Ruth Langsford, responded that “it’s very easy to say it is not true because it suits the state narrative”.
He said: “I totally agree with everything you are saying but what I don’t accept is mainstream media immediately slapping that down as not true when they don’t know it’s not true.
“No-one should attack or damage or do anything like that but it’s very easy to say it is not true because it suits the state narrative.”
The presenter added: “That’s all I would say, as someone with an inquiring mind.”
Experts have previously dismissed any link, calling it a “physical and biological impossibility” and branding “conspiracy theorists… a public health danger”.
Scientists criticised the presenter for his comments.
Prof Brendan Wren, professor of microbial pathogenesis at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “I welcome enquiring minds, but this needs to be based on some fact and not pedalled as a conspiracy as this causes untold damage.”
Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said: “The world of infectious disease experts, covering a wide range of disciplines, backgrounds, countries and employers are united in that we know how transmission of a virus works.
“Holmes is not known for his scientific expertise and appears to have very little in the way of relevant qualifications, experience or any kind of written track record in peer-reviewed journals.”
The presenter told viewers of This Morning, where he made the original comments, that he had agreed the conspiracy theories are not true.
The 60-year-old said there is “no scientific evidence to substantiate any 5G theories” but did not apologise and said he had been “misinterpreted”.
He told viewers: “I want to clarify some comments that some of you may have misinterpreted from me yesterday, around conspiracy theories and coronavirus, and this involved the rollout of 5G.
“Both Alice Beer and myself agreed in a discussion on this very programme on fake news that it’s not true and there is no connection between the present national health emergency and 5G and to suggest otherwise would be wrong and indeed it could be possibly dangerous.
“Every theory relating to such a connection has been proven to be false and we would like to emphasise that.
“However, many people are rightly concerned and looking for answers and that’s simply what I was trying to do, to impart yesterday.
“But for the avoidance of any doubt I want to make it clear there’s no scientific evidence to substantiate any of those 5G theories. I hope that clears that up now.”
Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said that the idea that Covid-19 is caused by 5G mobile signals is “complete rubbish”.
Viewers also criticised the presenter’s comments and accused him of “legitimising” the conspiracy theories.
After the programme was broadcast, Holmes defended his on-air comments by saying that he “didn’t spread” the conspiracy theory.
“I reserve the right to listen and question,” he added.
It comes after MPs called for social media companies to be held to account following reports of phone masts being attacked after theories spread online.
A Government spokesman said: “We are aware of a number of attacks on phone masts and abuse of telecoms engineers apparently inspired by crackpot conspiracy theories circulating online.
“Those responsible for these criminal acts will face the full force of the law.”
Ofcom is also assessing comments made by David Icke about coronavirus.
And the media watchdog previously ruled that a local radio station had breached its rules after one of its guests suggested the Covid-19 outbreak was caused by the rollout of 5G mobile technology.
ITV has been approached for comment.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel