Radio Caroline has been cited by UK media regulator Ofcom for breaching broadcasting standards following an on-air incident involving mistaken announcements regarding King Charles III.
During the Barry Marsh Show, pre-recorded obituary announcements intended for use in a genuine royal death scenario were accidentally activated by station staff. The messages claimed news outlets had confirmed the King’s death and were followed by the national anthem and an extended period of silence on DAB+ transmission, while AM listeners received background music instead. The station issued a correction and apology approximately 30 minutes after the false announcements aired.
Ofcom determined the incident violated two regulations: Rule 5.1, which mandates news reporting with appropriate accuracy standards, and Rule 5.2, which requires swift correction of material errors. The regulator classified the false announcement as a “very significant inaccuracy” concerning a matter of substantial public importance. According to Ofcom’s findings, a maintenance staff member accessed the pre-recorded files out of curiosity, inadvertently activating them and disrupting the presenter’s remote broadcast stream.
Radio Caroline attributed the situation to operational factors common at the station. The presenter, broadcasting remotely as standard practice, remained unaware the programme had been taken off air without real-time monitoring. The station director, who was managing AM operations at the time, only detected the problem upon hearing continuous music instead of the scheduled programme. The engineer investigating the technical issue then coordinated with the director to restore normal broadcasting and implement a correction.
Following the incident, Radio Caroline implemented corrective measures including disciplinary action against the staff member responsible and relocating obituary files from studio-accessible locations. The station emphasized its volunteer-based operational structure and noted it received only two complaints about the broadcast. The station was established in 1964 as an offshore pirate broadcaster and continues operating from waters off the north-east Essex coast.
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