§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to how many times, in the last six years, the Metropolitan police have asked the British Broadcasting Corporation to withdraw or amend a broadcast.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that the Metropolitan police provide frequent advice and assistance to broadcasters on matters with which the force is concerned. A specific request to withdraw or amend a programme would be made only if the Metropolitan police had reason to believe that the programme would be prejudicial to the course of justice or to police operations, or was factually inaccurate. No central record is kept of such requests. Final decisions on programme content are a matter for the broadcasting authorities alone.