§ 32. Mr. GrocottTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Northern Ireland broadcasting authorities on the subject of the recent restrictions on their ability to provide accurate coverage of current affairs.
§ Mr. RentonThere are no Northern Ireland broadcasting authorities, as such. The BBC and the IBA have undertaken to implement the directions issued, although they have requested that the need for them should be kept under close review. The directions do not prevent the broadcasters from providing accurate coverage of current affairs.
§ 33. Mr. CorbettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the difficulties created for the broadcasting authorities in Northern Ireland by the recent restrictions imposed on them.
§ Mr. RentonI do not believe that substantial difficulties have been created. The directions do not restrict the secondhand reporting of events. They restrict only the direct access of members of the organisations concerned and their supporters to the airwaves. Their activities and the words they utter can still be reported just as they are in the written press.