Barry Sheerman
Main Page: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Mr Whittingdale
I am extremely grateful to the Chairman of the Select Committee for his welcome for our proposals. It is absolutely right that we looked carefully at the recommendations in the report the Committee produced under his chairmanship, as indeed the Government examined the proposals in the report produced under the previous Chairman—both were highly influential. On his specific point, as I have made clear, the Government believe that diversity should be a central priority of the BBC, which is why, for the first time, we are enshrining it in the public purposes. Precisely how the BBC goes about delivering that is a matter for the BBC, but because it is now within the public purposes, it will be for the external regulator, Ofcom, to determine whether it is delivering on that purpose.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
I am sorry to say this to the Secretary of State but the British people will not be fooled by his words today. Some fantasy foxes might have been shot this morning, but I believe that by Sunday, as with the Budget, when the detail has been crawled over, this will be seen as a deep, dark day for the BBC. [Interruption.] The Brexiteers seem to have combined hating Europe with hating the BBC. This will be a champagne night for Rupert Murdoch and Richard Desmond. The BBC is better than that and is owned by the British people, not this Government.
Mr Whittingdale
That was utterly desperate. Just because the hon. Gentleman cannot find anything in the statement to disagree with, he now thinks there must be something hidden away that I have not mentioned to which he can object. The detail of the White Paper is well known to the director-general and the chairman of the BBC Trust, both of whom have said it is an excellent White Paper that will help to ensure that the BBC continues to thrive.