BBC External Services (Hansard, 6 August 1975)

§ 2. Mr. Churchill
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it a condition of his Department's grant to the external services of the BBC that they cease to employ avowed members of Communist or Communist-front parties.

Mr. James Callaghan
No, Sir. But I have asked the BBC to take effective measures against repetition of the events which I believe the hon. Member has in mind, whether in the Portuguese service or any of the other external programmes. It has agreed to do so.

§ Mr. Churchill
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that reply and for the firm line he has taken on this matter. I welcome the forthright admission by the BBC of incidents of pro-Communist bias in its Portuguese services. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that at a time when the democratic parties in Portugal are fighting for their lives against the Communist Party—which is reliably reported to be receiving the equivalent of £4 million sterling per month from the Soviet Union—the British people find it difficult to understand or to accept that the external services of the BBC should employ people who represent the enemies of democracy in what is supposed to be the voice of Britain abroad?

Mr. Callaghan
The BBC has acknowledged lapses from the accepted standards of objectivity in its Portuguese services. In the light of the review which was conducted, I have the personal assurance from the Director General of the BBC that the persons concerned have been reprimanded and warned that the penalty for any repetition will be dismissal. In view of the supervision of the programme by the Director General, which is taking place, he is satisfied that there will be no recurrence. Therefore, I do not consider that I should take the matter any further.

§ Mr. Whitehead
Is my right hon. Friend aware that the prompt response of the BBC to the representations made—some would say that it was super-prompt—should be the end of the matter? It would be greatly regretted by many of us, who are equally concerned with the establishment of pluralist democracy in Portugal, if we encouraged the BBC to launch a McCarthy-ite purge of all the BBC external services.

Mr. Callaghan
I do not think that there is the slightest danger of that. My rôle with the external services is to prescribe the countries, languages and times of transmissions. I do not think that I need to carry that matter any further now.

§ Mr. Maudling
Is the Foreign Secretary aware of the enormous importance of the external services of the BBC, partly by reason of their high quality in general and partly because they are regarded universally outside this country as the voice of Britain? In those circumstances, should not the people working in those services accept the same responsibilities and the same conditions as people working in the Foreign Service?

Mr. Callaghan
I do not know that I want to give an answer to a question like that off the cuff. At first glance I think that the responsibilities of the people working for the BBC external services are a little less than those of the people employed in the Foreign Service. Certainly high standards of objectivity are required, and are accepted as being required, by the BBC authorities.

§ Mr. Dalyell
As one who, in the House, has gently criticised the BBC external services for alleged bias against British trade, and who subsequently has had discussions with the BBC, may I say that I am persuaded that the BBC coverage of British trade is fairer than some of us thought?

Mr. Callaghan
I am glad to hear my hon. Friend say that. Most of us who go abroad are conscious of the influence of the BBC external services. I am glad to hear my hon. Friend's tribute to the work done overseas by the BBC. In my judgment his tribute is well deserved.

§ 7. Mr. Blaker
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth 478 Affairs if he will consult with the BBC regarding the desirability of extending the duration of broadcasts in the Portuguese Service.

Mr. James Callaghan
Yes, Sir. I have already been in touch with the BBC External Services on this important matter. They are actively considering how an extension can be introduced in the near future.

§ Mr. Blaker
That answer is welcome, but is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it makes it all the more important that the contents of the programmes and those running the programmes should be objective? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that some hon. Members will have been rather disappointed that he was not able to go a little further in answering a previous question on this subject? Should another situation arise in some other part of the world where it appears suitable to increase the duration of the broadcasting of the BBC's overseas services, does the right hon. Gentleman consider that it could be done more rapidly than in this case?

Mr. Callaghan
The BBC's External Services' Budget is subject to the overall cut for 1976–77 that was announced in the Spring Budget. It would be able to ask the BBC to increase its services to Portugal only by cutting down services elsewhere. This is a problem that the House must face when hon. Members call for reductions in public expenditure. I regret this situation, but it is inevitable, as I shall not be able to get a larger Vote. Mr. Mario Soares told me and all the Socialist leaders on Saturday that the people of Portugal—he was probably generalising—listen exclusively to the BBC and the German radio. It is therefore, of vital importance to Portugal's struggle for democracy that we should extend the services and that they should carry accurate and objective news.

§ Mr. Dalyell
Is my right hon. Friend aware that some of us are a little uncomfortable about certain pressures that seem to be coming from the Opposition about the BBC? I hope that these pressures will be resisted.

Mr. Callaghan
My hon. Friend knows me well enough to know that I shall yield to pressure from the Opposition not because it comes from them, but only if it 479 is realistic. I shall judge the matter as objectively as I can. There were isolated lapses in the BBC's Portuguese service. I am satisfied that they have been put right. I do not know whether the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Blaker) wishes to pursue a vendetta on the matter. I am satisfied that the Director-General wishes to pursue an objective policy and that he is making arrangements to do so. I think that we should leave the matter there.