- GB News apologised and paid substantial damages after broadcasting wholly false terrorism allegations against Islamic Relief.
- Islamic Relief warned the baseless claims endangered staff and fuelled harmful disinformation about Muslim organisations.
Islamic Relief says the baseless claims were “particularly offensive and deeply troubling,” and warns they place staff and vulnerable communities at risk.
GB News faced intense backlash after airing unfounded terrorism allegations about Islamic Relief, one of the UK’s largest Muslim charities. The segment falsely implied the charity funded terrorist groups. It was removed soon after, and public interest surged as people searched for “GB News apology Islamic Relief.”
The broadcast intensified scrutiny of media accountability. It also highlighted the real harm caused by false terrorism claims against humanitarian organisations.
The allegations appeared on The Camilla Tominey Show on 16 February 2025 during an interview with political analyst Amjad Taha. He said, ‘Islamic Relief, for instance, is registered as a charity here, but all the way in Saudi Arabia, in UAE, and other countries it is banned because of the investigation that showed that this charity is sending money all the way to some terrorist groups in the Middle East.”
Tominey did not challenge the claim. Islamic Relief denied the accusation and stressed that it delivers humanitarian aid in over 40 countries. The charity also noted that its staff have been killed by terrorists.
On X, journalist David Pugliese wrote, “GB News has paid ‘substantial’ libel damages to a UK charity after airing false claims it had sent money to terrorist groups in the Middle East.” Arab News also reported the details of the broadcast and the lack of scrutiny at the time.
GB News issued an On Air apology on 29th September 2025. It stated:
“We accept the allegation that Islamic Relief has funded terrorist groups is untrue. Islamic Relief has stated it does not promote or support extremism of any kind and that it is a purely humanitarian organisation. We apologise to Islamic Relief and are happy to correct the record.” The channel removed the segment and all related content.
On 3 December 2025, the High Court confirmed the claims were “wholly and categorically false.” GB News agreed to pay substantial damages and legal costs. Islamic Relief’s solicitor, Dominic Garner, read a statement in court that fully vindicated the charity.
Press Gazette later posted on X, “GB News pays substantial damages to Islamic Relief over false terrorism claim.” Further details from Carter-Ruck and Islamic Relief outlined the settlement and court process.
The false allegations threatened the charity’s reputation and the safety of its workers. They also fuelled disinformation about Muslim organisations. Critics accused GB News of persistent negative coverage of Muslims and of promoting Islamophobic tropes. This case followed another apology from the channel earlier in 2025.
The incident renewed calls for stronger media regulation to reduce harmful misinformation. Public discussions on platforms such as New Arab and Reddit reflected growing concern about broadcast standards.
Islamic Relief says they are using the damages to expand winter aid programmes in Gaza and Yemen. The charity says this supports families affected by conflict and reinforces its commitment to transparent, independently audited humanitarian work. Its CEO, Tufail Hussain, welcomed the ruling as an important step in countering baseless smears that damage trust in Muslim-led organisations.
