Early Day Motion·EDM 871

Editorial Control of the BBC

19 April 199018 Signatures

Primary sponsor

Sir Roger Gale

Conservative — Herne Bay and Sandwich

Motion Text

That this House deplores the unprecedented decision taken by the BBC to enter into a contract for the transmission of the recent so-called Nelson Mandela Concert at Wembley that effectively surrendered its editorial control of the broadcast; and considers that, in contrast with its eagerness to retain editorial control when covering political events in other contexts, the BBC has acted in a manner unworthy of its status as a public service broadcaster.