Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin faced GB News complaint over colleague’s claim of ‘inappropriate comments’
Matt Goodwin, Reform UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection, was accused by a young woman working at GB News of making inappropriate comments which she viewed as sexually harassing, the Guardian can reveal.The junior staffer complained to HR last year alleging Goodwin had made inappropriate comments, one regarding her appearance, sources say.Goodwin, 44, volunteered an apology after the complaint had been raised.The woman is understood to have complained to the network’s HR department in 2025.She later left the network for unrelated reasons.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is understood to have been told by a senior member of staff at GB News about the complaint prior to Goodwin’s selection as the party’s candidate for next week’s byelection.A number of sources have told the Guardian that they were aware of the woman’s complaint against Goodwin and that GB News had undertaken an inquiry into the complaint.One source at the broadcaster said: “She was very upset at the time, and her colleagues were upset on her behalf that she was so distressed by the situation.”Goodwin has denied acting inappropriately.A lawyer acting for him confirmed to the Guardian that a grievance had been raised.
They said it related to two alleged verbal remarks made months apart and that no formal disciplinary action had been taken.The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods:The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories.Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs.This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.
If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu.Select ‘Secure Messaging’.Our guide at theguardian.com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.They said it was a “minor workplace matter” that had been resolved as a difference in perception or miscommunication.
The investigator had found the young woman’s and Goodwin’s accounts of the situation were both credible, they said, giving Goodwin credit for offering an apology once the complaint had been raised.Farage is understood to have decided the complaint was not serious enough to warrant a rethink about Goodwin’s selection.A source at GB News told the Guardian that Farage had characterised the complaint as “that is just Matt being Matt”.Weeks after the complaint was raised, Goodwin was announced as the candidate for the byelection, which was triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynne for health reasons.Goodwin has faced criticism during the campaign for comments he has made previously, including a 2024 suggestion that “young girls and women” should be given a “biological reality” check, described by the Labour MP Natalie Fleet as positing a “Handmaid’s Tale” future.
He has also been criticised for comments made last year on a podcast with the rightwing academic Jordan Peterson in which he said there had been a “feminisation of higher education”, after Peterson outlined this as a potential reason for “politically correct authoritarianism”.Goodwin was described by some as a controversial choice for the byelection, after he claimed recently that UK-born people from minority ethnic backgrounds were not necessarily British.After announcing his candidacy, he was swiftly endorsed by the far-right agitator and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson.In a blog entry written in 2023, Goodwin suggested the government should “remove personal income tax for women who have two or more children”.Goodwin spent most of his career as an academic before turning his eye to politics.
He has spoken at various Reform UK events over the last year, and he has a Substack blog with 90,000 followers where he posts essays detailing his views.He left academia in 2024 when he took voluntary severance as a professor at the University of Kent.Reform UK did not respond to repeated requests for comment prior to publication.Goodwin and GB News also declined to provide an on-the-record comment.Following publication, a spokesperson for Reform described the claims as “a desperate, last-minute smear by The Guardian, timed to damage Matt Goodwin days before polling day.
”
Mind launches inquiry into AI and mental health after Guardian investigation
Mind is launching a significant inquiry into artificial intelligence and mental health after a Guardian investigation exposed how Google’s AI Overviews gave people “very dangerous” medical advice.In a year-long commission, the mental health charity, which operates in England and Wales, will examine the risks and safeguards required as AI increasingly influences the lives of millions of people affected by mental health issues worldwide.The inquiry – the first of its kind globally – will bring together the world’s leading doctors and mental health professionals, as well as people with lived experience, health providers, policymakers and tech companies. Mind says it will aim to shape a safer digital mental health ecosystem, with strong regulation, standards and safeguards.The launch comes after the Guardian revealed how people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google AI Overviews
West Virginia sues Apple over child sex abuse material stored and shared on iCloud
West Virginia’s attorney general filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing Apple of allowing its iCloud service to become a vehicle for distributing child sexual abuse material.The state alleges that the company facilitated the spread of child sexual abuse material by declining to deploy tools that scan photos and videos and detect such material in iCloud users’ collections.JB McCuskey, a Republican, accused Apple of prioritizing user privacy over child safety. His office called the case the first of its kind by a government agency over the distribution of child sexual abuse material on Apple’s data storage platform.“These images are a permanent record of a child’s trauma, and that child is revictimized every time the material is shared or viewed,” McCuskey said in the statement
Skiers stranded by California avalanche used iPhone SOS feature to seek help
California’s deadliest avalanche killed at least eight people in a ski group near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday. The six survivors used the iPhone’s emergency SOS feature to help first responders find them as they waited under a tarp and discovered some of the bodies, according to the Nevada county sheriff. Apple’s feature, introduced in 2022, allows users to text law enforcement, even if there’s no cell service or wifi by connecting the phone to a satellite.First responders reached the skiers’ location and learned of the six survivors based on conversations held through the feature, Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a press conference on Wednesday.California office of emergency services law enforcement chief Don O’Keefe said his staff spoke with one of the stranded guides for more than four hours to relay information to the sheriff’s office, which was leading rescue efforts
US builds website that will allow Europeans to view blocked content
The US has built a portal that will allow Europeans to view blocked content including alleged hate speech and terrorism, according to Reuters.The portal, “freedom.gov”, will allow worldwide users to circumvent government controls on their content. The site features a graphic of a ghostly horse galloping above the Earth, and the motto: “Information is power. Reclaim your human right to free expression
Accenture ‘links staff promotions to use of AI tools’
Accenture has reportedly started tracking staff use of its AI tools and will take this into consideration when deciding on top promotions, as the consulting company tries to increase uptake of the technology by its workforce.The company told senior managers and associate directors that being promoted to leadership roles would require “regular adoption” of artificial intelligence, according to an internal email seen by the Financial Times.The consultancy has also begun collecting data on weekly log-ins to its AI tools by some senior staff members, the FT reports.Accenture has previously said it has trained 550,000 of its 780,000-strong workforce in generative AI, up from only 30 people in 2022, and has announced it is rolling out training to all of its employees as part of its annual $1bn (£740m) annual spend on learning.Among the tools whose use will reportedly be monitored is Accenture’s AI Refinery
Tell us: have you ever used AI to navigate everyday life and social relationships?
Lots of people now use chatbots as personal assistants, not just for work but in everyday life and social interactions. We want to hear your stories about the ways you’re using chatbots to navigate your social life or significant life decisions.Have you ever drafted a breakup text using AI? Or crafted a message to delicately cancel plans? Have you consulted AI on whether to take, or quit, a job? Or sought advice from a chatbot on a tricky friendship or relationship?Did that advice work, or backfire?Tell us about it in the form below or by messaging us. Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible
From patriotic parody to threat: Flanders and Swann, the Likely Lads and Reform | Letter
Goodies galore in a Clued-up crossword tribute to Graeme Garden | Brief letters
Salman Rushdie among 170 figures to sign open letter over Barbican arts lead departure
Colbert on RFK Jr’s Maha workout video: ‘Senior softcore that feels like dropping acid’
‘He invented a style’: war chronicler Robert Capa refashioned himself and revolutionised photography
Australian screen industry crushed as Universal shutters Matchbox Pictures, with 30 jobs lost