MP says BBC World Service cuts ‘very short-sighted’
Today in the House of Commons during Foreign and Commonwealth Questions, John Baron MP pressed The Rt. Hon. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, over what the Government was doing to promote political reform in the Middle East.
John said:
“The provision of accurate and independent information has never been more important in these uncertain times. Will the Government therefore re-visit its decision which is forcing cuts on the BBC World Service and in particular the BBC Arabic Service, which is very short-sighted given its excellent reputation in the region.”
The Foreign Secretary responded by pointing out the BBC would still be providing an Arabic Service.
John said afterwards:
“The Foreign Secretary’s answer ducks the question. This could not be a worse time to force cuts on the BBC Arabic Service – a key element of Britain’s soft power.”
“In other parts of the World Service we are losing audiences of up to 10 million for the sake of a £700,000 saving. This is madness. If money is the issue then we should take it from the £1,200 million we are giving India in aid when that country has its own space, rearmament and aid programme, and an aircraft carrier to boot.”
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