Radio Caroline has been found in breach of broadcasting rules after it mistakenly announced the death of King Charles III.
The station aired three pre-recorded announcements falsely stating the King had died during the Barry Marsh Show on 19 May.
The messages claimed the “news media” had “confirmed” the death, and were followed by the national anthem and 16 minutes of silence on DAB+, while AM listeners heard back-up music. A correction and apology was broadcast 30 minutes later.
The ruling by media watchdog Ofcom stated that once the staff member who accidentally played the files realised what they had done, they stopped playing them, “panicked and left the premises”.
Ofcom said the incident breached Rule 5.1, which requires news to be reported with due accuracy, and Rule 5.2, which says significant mistakes must be corrected quickly.
It described the false announcement as a “very significant inaccuracy” on a matter of “very high public interest”.
The mistake happened after a staff member carrying out maintenance accessed pre‑recorded obituary files intended for use in the event of the King’s death.
Ofcom said the files were played “out of curiosity”, cutting off the presenter’s remote stream and putting the announcements on air.
Two complaints
Radio Caroline said the presenter did not realise they were off air because, as is common practice, they were streaming the programme remotely.
The station said its presenter “would not realise that they had gone ‘off air’ unless they were monitoring their output via an internet monitor.”
It added that the station director was across the station’s AM output but was on a call when the inaccurate announcement was broadcast.
The station director noticed the issue only when he heard continuous music instead of the scheduled programme and contacted the engineer, who was aware of the issue and was already investigating.
A brief apology was then made, with the presenter saying the earlier information had been “incorrect” and that it was due to “a technical issue.”
The station said it “took the matter very seriously” and acted “as soon as possible”.
The staff member involved has been reprimanded, and the obituary files have been moved off the studio desktop to prevent a repeat incident.
Radio Caroline noted Ofcom received only two complaints about the incident and said the station is “100% volunteer-led” without the resources of larger broadcasters.
Founded in 1964 as an offshore pirate station, Radio Caroline broadcast from a ship until 1991, when it was shipwrecked off the Kent coast.
The station is still based off the north-east Essex coast, although many presenters broadcast their shows remotely.