§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he last requested representatives of the British record industry to meet him; what was the purpose of the meeting; and who attended. [31618]
§ Mr. PrescottI met representatives of the British record industry on 12 February to discuss the deplorable behaviour by a member of Chumbawamba at this year's Brit Awards. This meeting was attended by Rob Dickins, Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI); John Deacon, Director General of the BPI; and Lisa Anderson, Executive Producer of the Brits Awards Show. I expressed my concerns about the incident—particularly 331W that those who run the British music industry should not be seen to tolerate such aggressive behaviour at this kind of public event.
I welcome the fact that the BPI have publicly condemned this incident as offensive and unacceptable and forcefully stated that such behaviour could not be condoned at what was intended to be a celebration of great British music.