13/04/2010

PM Backs BBC 6's Retention

Gordon Brown has joined the call to save threatened BBC radio station 6 Music.

The digital station is facing closure as part of a shake-up of the corporation, which will divert an extra £600 million into programme-making.

But the Prime Minister told the Radio Times that the BBC should not have "succumbed to pressure" to axe some of its output.

He said: "The licence fee is essential to the BBC. Any proposal to massively cut the fee or to strip the BBC of its independence - or alternatively, to remove its ability to make certain programmes - is a huge mistake.

"I don't think politicians should make that decision about what the BBC produces. I think the BBC should make that decision. I also think, personally, that the BBC should not have succumbed to pressure to cut certain things - but they have."

Asked whether he was in favour of the campaign to save endangered 6 Music, he said: "Yes because it's the next stage you worry about. The Conservatives have said that they'll hive off Radio 1.

"A lot of things that the BBC does are incredibly creative and quite risky. But this is a necessary means of us being a creative society. I want to safeguard the independence of the BBC and I think the licence fee is the means by which you do it."

It has also emerged that Mr Brown also came out against 'paywalls', which are about to be introduced for websites for The Times, The Sun and the News of the World. He said: "People have got used to getting content without having to pay," he said.

(BMcC/GK)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

16 March 2012
BBC To Move Forward With Paid Download Service
The BBC's director of archive content Roly Keating has said viewers are “very comfortable” with the corporations plans to launch an iTunes-style download service.
09 August 2011
BBC Launches New BBC iPlayer For TV
The BBC has launched a new version of BBC iPlayer for TV. For the first time, BBC iPlayer on TV is personalised, specifically designed for the living room, and easy to use. The new version gives audiences the control they want directly on the TV, in a design custom-built for the living room, so the BBC iPlayer experience feels just like TV.
27 May 2011
Trust Launches Review Of BBC News Channel And BBC Parliament
The BBC Trust has launched its service review of BBC Parliament and BBC News Channel, as part of its rolling programme of service reviews. The review will look at the current performance of BBC Parliament and the News Channel - including the stations' quality, distinctiveness and value for money - and the BBC's future plans for the services.
14 May 2004
BBC Four chief moves across to head up BBC Two
BBC Director of Television Jana Bennett has announced the appointment of Roly Keating as the new Controller of BBC Two. Keating, currently the Controller of BBC Four, will take up his new role in June when he becomes Jana Bennett's first channel controller appointment.
16 October 2012
Cameron Under Pressure For Independent Savile Inquiry
The Prime Ministr is under increasing pressure to set up an independent Leveson-style inquiry into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal. Labour leader Ed Miliband said an inquiry was needed to investigate what happened, not just at the BBC but also at the hospitals and schools where he allegedly preyed on vulnerable children and young women.