A press release has been issued by the original complainants to Ofcom, the UK‘s communications regulatory office, over the Channel 4 documentary, โThe Great Global Warmingย Swindle.โ
In the release (full version attached below), Bob Ward, former spokesperson for the prestigious UK Royal Society, who submitted one of the 265 complaints received by Ofcom and who reviewed parts of the test complaint,ย said:
โThe commissioning and broadcasting of this programme was clearly a calamitous mistake and revealed serious management failures at Channel 4. It is very disappointing that Ofcom has failed to fully uphold the public interest, and the ruling raises very serious doubts about the ability of the broadcasting regulator to recognise the harm caused by misrepresentations of the scientific evidence on climate change. Recent opinion polls show that a majority of the public mistakenly believe that many scientists disagree that greenhouse gas emissionsโ [myย emphasis]
Ward went on to sayย that:
โMartin Durkin, who produced the programme for Channel 4, has so far been unapologetic about the misrepresentation of facts and the unfair treatment of scientists. He should also withdraw the DVD version from sale, because it contains many of the errors that appeared in the broadcast programme, and he should recall those copies that have already been sold. I hope that the trading standards authorities now investigate sales of the DVD.โ
For more on the history of the โGreat Global Warming Swindleโ and Channel 4 controversy check out some of DeSmog’s previousย entries:
