Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what monitoring the Independent Television Commission carries out of programmes on SIMA TV; if SIMA TV broadcasts the statements of Mojahedin Khalq Organisation of Iran and the National Council of Resistances of Iran; when SIMA TV was last fined by the ITC; and if he will make a statement about the future licensing of SIMA TV. [118942]
§ Janet AndersonMonitoring is regularly undertaken by the ITC on the broadcasts of all its licence holders. For broadcasters, like SIMA, who have breached the ITC's Programme Codes, this monitoring would be more intense.
Broadcasting statements by groups such as Mojahedin Khalq Organisation or the National Council of Resistances of Iran are not in themselves a problem, provided they carry no incitement to crime, and that they form part of a wider range of views. SIMA was fined £20,000 in November 1999 for not adhering to these points. SIMA may retain its licence as long as it complies with the ITC's Programmes and other Codes.