Early Day Motion·EDM 871

Editorial Control of the BBC

19 April 199018 Signatures

Primary sponsor

Sir Roger Gale

ConservativeHerne 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.