GB News presenter Eamonn Holmes has publicly defended his colleague Dougie Beattie after the Northern Ireland reporter faced criticism following an investigation into alleged poor animal welfare at a government-funded farm.
Dougie recently reported on conditions at the Hillsborough site run by Happy Farms, which receives significant taxpayer funding and is used to test policies from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
Footage shown in the investigation appeared to show animals kept in poor conditions, including pens covered in manure and livestock with visible wounds and sores.
The report also raised concerns about pollution and the presence of raw sewage on site.
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Eamonn Holmes jumped to the defence of his GB News colleague
| GB NewsNorthern Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir later dismissed Dougie and GB News as “not serious” journalists during an exchange at the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Responding to questions from Stormont member Timothy Gaston about whether he would meet the reporter to discuss the allegations, Mr Muir said: “In relation to meeting GB News, I will meet serious journalists… GB News is neither that.”
Dougie retaliated: "Just so Mr Muir knows, I am 32 years in the media, in various roles inside that media.
“I am probably older than most journalists and I’ve been in the media longer than most of the journalists in Northern Ireland have actually been alive.”
Dougie Beattie
|GB NEWS
Following the broadcast, Eamonn took to social media to show his support for his colleague.
He wrote on X: “Disgusting! If they were all as dedicated as you Dougie. My respect and admiration. If there is failure here there will be failures elsewhere."
Eamonn's comments quickly drew supportive responses from viewers.
One user wrote: “Well done, Dougie. One of the best professional reporters in the world.”
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Disgusting!
— Eamonn Holmes OBE (@EamonnHolmes) March 4, 2026
If they were all as dedicated as you Dougie . My respect and admiration . If there is failure here there will be failures elsewhere. 👏👏👏👏👏
Another added: “Not shocking in the slightest the civil service is a joke with absolutely no accountability and the politicians always back them up.”
A third commented: “It’s no shock to me that something government funded turned out [badly].”
The investigation centres on concerns raised by whistleblowers about conditions at the Hillsborough site.
According to the report, concerns were initially brought to politicians within Mr Muir’s Alliance Party in May 2025.
However, after months passed without action, the whistleblowers eventually approached Dougie and GB News with the footage.
Farmer David Irwin has since called for the Agriculture Minister to resign over the issue.
"I think the minister simply has to resign at this point," he said.
“There are so many unanswered questions.”
Andrew Muir told the Assembly Dougie Beattie and GB News are 'not serious' | DAERAMr Irwin also questioned whether the allegations were properly investigated and why other media outlets had not reported on the claims.
He said: “To date we have not had the BBC or ITV or any of the other local mainstream news channels ask any questions about this."
The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute declined an interview with GB News but previously said it had carried out an “extensive and thorough investigation” into the incidents.
In a statement, the organisation said it was “aware of many of these incidents when they originally occurred and were content that they had been previously dealt with appropriately”.
It added that it “strenuously refutes any suggestions of poor farming practices”.