{"id":496664,"date":"2026-03-26T16:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/496664\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:15:10","slug":"church-leaders-criticise-christian-owner-of-gb-news-over-channels-climate-attacks-gb-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/496664\/","title":{"rendered":"Church leaders criticise Christian owner of GB News over channel\u2019s climate attacks | GB News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The co-owner of GB News<\/a> and \u201ccommitted\u201d Christian Sir Paul Marshall has been criticised by a group of church leaders over the TV channel\u2019s attacks on climate science and action.<\/p>\n

The hedge fund manager was also challenged over his own statements, which were called \u201cmisleading\u201d, by the 100-strong group, which includes the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and two current bishops.<\/p>\n

Marshall said recently<\/a> that the UK had been infected by \u201cclimate derangement syndrome\u201d and that efforts to cut planet-heating emissions were \u201cimpoverishing people\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Christian leaders also raised the \u00a31.8bn of fossil fuel investments<\/a> reportedly held in 2023 by the hedge fund Marshall manages and asked him to be transparent about any personal conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

Marshall responded that \u201cthe Gospel entreats us to look after the vulnerable\u201d but that pursuing an \u201cideological\u201d net zero policy was \u201ca path of unilateral economic disarmament and self-harm\u201d. He also said the extent to which global heating was being caused by human actions was \u201cstill subject to debate\u201d.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s climate scientists, in reports signed off by 192 national governments, have been clear for more than a decade that about 100% of global heating since 1950<\/a> was caused by human emissions and activities.<\/p>\n

The open letter from the church leaders<\/a> said: \u201cBritish Christians have often led the way in calling for change and modelling a new way of living in spite of pushback from powerful interests,\u201d citing the campaign to end slavery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe note with concern a number of your past statements, including your assertion that decarbonisation is \u2018leading the way in wrecking our industrial base\u2019, \u2018impoverishing our people\u2019 and \u2018sacrificing our energy security\u2019. We are concerned these statements are misleading,\u201d they wrote. \u201cAs many economists and experts have shown, decarbonisation is a huge growth opportunity<\/a>, which will save trillions of dollars in the long-term, alongside improving our health and wellbeing, and contributing to the UK\u2019s national security.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cIf you have personal financial interests in fossil fuels, we ask, in the spirit of transparency, that you declare these interests before making public statements about the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall, who has said he is a \u201ccommitted Church of England Christian<\/a>\u201d, said: \u201cI share the concerns for stewardship of the planet, which is currently in a gradual warming cycle. This has to be balanced with a commitment to human flourishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor that reason I do not support the current policy of unilateral net zero, which the UK is pursuing out of step with the rest of the world. It is undermining the country\u2019s long-term prosperity, imposing excess costs on businesses, discouraging new growth industries and having an outsized negative impact on the elderly and the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 100 countries<\/a>, responsible for about 82% of global carbon emissions, have net zero policies and dozens more<\/a> are considering them. The UK\u2019s net zero economy grew by 10% in 2024<\/a>, according to the Confederation of British Industry.<\/p>\n

Marshall, who was worth \u00a3850m<\/a> in 2025, said: \u201cI am an active investor in renewable technology, as is [his hedge fund] Marshall Wace. However, I don\u2019t believe in penalising oil and gas. The UK should have a strategy of energy abundance, combining renewables with a range of energy sources, including oil and gas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Christian leaders cited research that found GB News broadcast 953 attacks on climate science and climate action<\/a> in the period immediately before and after the 2024 general election.<\/p>\n

Clare Fussell, at the Christian climate charity Operation Noah and a signatory of the letter, said: \u201cWith the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the urgency of moving away from fossil fuels has never been clearer. We urge media outlets, including GB News, to uphold standards of fair and responsible reporting on climate issues, and to avoid misleading audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall said he was not involved in the editorial decisions of GB News. The news channel has lost \u00a3131m<\/a> since its launch in 2021, according to Press Gazette.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for GB News said: \u201cIt is an affront that Operation Noah lectures GB News on fair, responsible reporting and avoiding misleading audiences, while denying us the courtesy of a right or reply. GB News stands behind its journalism as an independent Ofcom-regulated broadcaster, compliant with the code. We champion open debate and engage diverse perspectives. This is a cornerstone of democracy, and the basis of our success as Britain\u2019s number one news channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall wrote a letter to the Christian leaders, seen by the Guardian, in which he said: \u201cI agree that the planet is in a gradual warming cycle, although I believe the extent to which this is anthropogenic is still subject to debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global temperatures are rising about 10 times faster<\/a> than the average rate after previous ice ages.<\/p>\n

Marshall said he differed on the right policy response. \u201cIf renewables are competitive, they should not need subsidy and oil and gas should not need penalisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fossil fuels benefitted from $1.3tn in explicit subsidies<\/a> in 2022 and $5.7tn in implicit subsidies, according to the International Monetary Fund. The International Energy Agency said in 2023 that 96% of new large-scale solar and onshore windfarms had lower electricity generation costs<\/a> than new coal and gas plants.<\/p>\n

Marshall said to the Christian leaders: \u201cThe gospel entreats us to look after the vulnerable and I urge you to reflect on how high energy costs and restricting access to cheap oil and gas affects so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rising global heating caused by fossil fuel burning kills one person a minute<\/a>, according to a major report on the health impact of the climate crisis published in October in the Lancet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The co-owner of GB News and \u201ccommitted\u201d Christian Sir Paul Marshall has been criticised by a group of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-496664","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-greatbritain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}