Government should have no role in running of BBC World Service, says John Birt

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/18/bbc-world-service-foreign-office-no-role

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John Birt, the former director general of the BBC, has said the government should no longer have any say in the running of the World Service after its funding was taken over by the BBC.

Birt said it was a “nonsense” that the Foreign Office still had a role in the running of the global broadcaster and said it should be “taken out of the equation”.

He said he was “uncomfortable” with the funding switch to the BBC, which took place in April this year as part of the 2010 licence fee settlement.

Birt described the 2010 deal as a “piece of skulduggery” and said the issue should be a key strand in the charter renewal negotiations beginning next year.

“One of the biggest changes in the BBC’s history took place without any public debate, a piece of skulduggery in the middle of the night,” he told a conference on the future of BBC current affairs at London’s City University on Thursday.

“Despite the fact it’s not paying for it, the Foreign Office gets to determine the shape of it. That is all a nonsense and absolutely needs sorting out at the next charter.

“What has essentially happened is the government has said the BBC should have a global role as well as a national role and that global role should be funded by the licence fee. I am uncomfortable about it in many ways but it has happened.

“One of the things that has to be sorted out is the Foreign Office has to be taken out of the equation. There is no proper reason why the government shod be determining exactly what role the BBC should have.”

Birt added: “An important element of negotiations around the next charter is the BBC’s global role in respect of journalism. It has one but it needs to be clarified.”

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