Contributions
920 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityWhether there is a level playing field between different employees of the BBC is a matter for the BBC to determine.14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI have to challenge the hon. Lady: we have not slashed services at the BBC. The BBC has a guaranteed income over the next few years of £3.8 billion a year. She seems to be…14 Mar 2023HANSARDLondon Zoo LeaseIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Caroline. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) for securing the debate on the important topic…14 Mar 2023HANSARDLondon Zoo LeaseI think that is the most tremendous intervention I will ever take. While I cannot confirm or deny Robbie’s continued existence, I suspect he has sired many children, and there are…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityThe BBC is a world-class broadcaster, a creative engine and a cultural institution producing some of the best television and radio in the world. The impartiality of the BBC, as a…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI thank the hon. Lady for her spirited questions. I have watched her valiant attempts to kick this political football across the weekend and into this week. As Politico notes, we…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI thank my right hon. Friend for that important question. I agree that anybody who cares about the BBC will want this furore to die down so that it can focus on how to ensure that…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI make it clear that Ministers have not sought to intervene or interfere in how this process has been handled by the BBC. I will not be commenting on the Lineker case…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityRichard Sharp was appointed in a transparent way. There are obviously concerns about —[Interruption.]14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is the mode of the BBC’s funding that makes it different in how it must respond to such cases. Trust and impartiality are fundamental…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityThe Leader of the House is entitled to comment on the nature of Mr Lineker’s comments but, as far as I am aware, she applied zero pressure on the BBC to take action in relation to…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI thank my hon. Friend for setting out how he feels about the comments that were made. I very much appreciate the deep sensitivities of this matter. I also think it was…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityThe hon. Lady talks of BBC staff in her constituency. They signed contracts and are aware of the standards to which they must adhere, because impartiality is so fundamental to the…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI thank my right hon. Friend for his comments. The Serota review was designed to do just that: to make sure there are very clear guidelines to which BBC employees sign up, and to…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityThe right hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the importance of impartiality to the trust in which licence fee payers hold the organisation, and its importance to the future of…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityMy hon. Friend is absolutely right about the importance of impartiality. The BBC already has a set of rules on that but, in the light of this incident, it is also looking at how…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityFrom my Department’s perspective, the appointment was undertaken to the letter. There have since been events that have come to light that we need to investigate, and those things…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI thank my hon. Friend for not only his question, but the way in which he has engaged with me over the mid-term review. I know he has a number of ideas as to how the governance…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityI believe I have already answered that question, but I reiterate that no pressure was applied on the BBC by Ministers and that having political links to a party does not preclude…14 Mar 2023HANSARD BBC: Government Role in ImpartialityOn some of the musical operations the BBC currently funds, I know that this matter is causing a lot of alarm and concern. As my hon. Friend will appreciate, it is not for me to…14 Mar 2023