HL Deb 13 February 1984 vol 448 c1
The Countess of Mar

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in view of the illegal television programmes being broadcast on the BBC 2 waveband in the Birmingham area, any foolproof method has been devised to trace pirate television broadcasts.

Lord Lyell

My Lords, the source of an illegal television broadcast can be traced by the use of radio direction-finding equipment. This can only be done, however, while the station remains on the air.

The Countess of Mar

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his reply to my Question. May I ask him whether or not it is possible for a person or a group of people with fewer scruples than the recent pirates to use the same process to broadcast films of an unpleasant nature or for the purposes of political indoctrination, and whether it is possible for the broadcasting authorities to prevent such pirate broadcasts?

Lord Lyell

My Lords, of course what such people might broadcast is in the imagination of all of us. However, I am afraid that I am not able to go much further than stressing what I said in my original Answer. It is difficult to detect television transmissions of a pirate nature, especially if the broadcasts are for fairly short periods and take place at irregular intervals.

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