JML Media fined over boss’s political funding

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JML Media fined over boss’s political funding
November 12, 2018 12.01 Europe/London By Julian Clover
Ofcom has fined JML Media £7,500 after it emerged a director failed to disclose his political affiliations.
John Mills, the founder and director of the homeshopping channel group, was at one time Labour’s largest donor.
“We found that JML Media Limited failed to disclose to Ofcom the political associations of one of its directors and major shareholders. This meant that the Licensee rendered itself disqualified from holding its broadcasting licence, under restrictions in the Broadcasting Act,” the regulator said in a statement.
The fine, which takes into account the action taken by JML to rectify the breach and its full cooperation with Ofcom, goes to HM Paymaster General.
In July Mills resigned from positions at Labour Leave, Labour Future, The Pound Campaign, Business for Brexit, and Labour for Britain.

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JML fined for breach of Ofcom code
Details
Editor
| 12 November 2018

The owner of cable and satellite teleshopping service provider JML Direct has been found in breach of UK licence conditions by broadcast regulator Ofcom and fined £7,500 for the infringement.

JML Media Limited holds a Television Licensable Content Service (TLCS) teleshopping service licence to broadcast the teleshopping service JML Direct. It has held this licence since 13 March 1998.

However, the licensee has been found to have failed to inform Ofcom of changes in the circumstances of its major shareholder and director of both it and its parent company John Mills Limited. This resulted in the licensee becoming disqualified from holding the licence. The licensee was thus in breach of Licence Condition 15(3) from 15 February 2013, when Mr Mills became a director and the only subscriber of the first of five companies with wholly or mainly political objects, until 26 May 2018 when Mr Mills ended his involvement with the political bodies concerned.

On 18 June 2018, Ofcom’s Executive found that JML Media Limited had breached licence condition 15(3) and put the licensee on notice in the Breach Decision that it considered the breach to be serious, and that it would consider it for the imposition of a statutory sanction.

In accordance with procedures for the consideration of statutory sanctions in breaches of broadcast licences, Ofcom considered whether the licence breach was serious, deliberate, repeated or reckless so as to warrant the imposition of a sanction on the Licensee in this case. It reached a decision that a sanction — a financial penalty of £7,500 — was merited in this case since the breach was serious.