HC Deb 15 March 1982 vol 20 c7
6. Mr. Geraint Howells

asked the Secretary of State for Wales, further to his intervention, Official Report, 25 February, column 1039, if he will make a statement on his discussions with the Independent Broadcasting Authority, the Welsh Fourth Channel Authority and Harlech Television.

Mr. Nicholas Edwards

My discussions were informal and enabled me to form a balanced picture of the considerable activity that is taking place in preparation for the launching of the new channel.

Mr. Howells

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his reply. In view of what was said in the Chamber during the recent Welsh affairs debate, will he give an assurance to the people of Wales that everything is well and that the Welsh channel will be operating from the day that has been suggested in the autumn?

Mr. Edwards

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that I have no direct responsibility for broadcasting matters. However, I took the view that the intervention by the hon. Member for Pontypool (Mr. Abse) during the last Welsh day debate was a quite unjustified attack on the responsible members of the Welsh television channel authority. I thought that it was an attack that I should deplore immediately, as I did in an intervention. Recently, I have met not only members of the authority but senior representatives of HTV. I am certain that the authority is proceeding in a sensible way with these important negotiations to establish the new channel on a successful basis.

Dr. Roger Thomas

Has the right hon. Gentleman seen the press release issued on 1 March—the day of the inauguration of the fourth Welsh channel—regarding the independent producers, whose aims, apparently, are concerned with the culture, problems and aspirations of the Welsh nation? Will he comment on that, because many Welsh speakers do not agree with that summing up?

Mr. Edwards

I should have thought that it would be the wish of every hon. Member to further the culture and and aspirations of the Welsh nation. I find it utterly astonishing that the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Dr. Thomas) should wish to dissociate himself from such a worthy objective, just as I thought it deplorable that in the Welsh day debate he associated himself with quite unfounded accusations of some kind of gravy train being involved.