Raid of BBC Offices in India Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Hilary Benn
Main Page: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)Department Debates - View all Hilary Benn's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 year, 2 months ago)
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David Rutley
We need to ensure that our views on media freedom are communicated clearly with other Governments. We have those conversations not only with the Government of India, but across the world. We think these are very important principles and, as I said, they are essential elements for robust democracies.
Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
I understand why the Foreign Office does not want to comment on this particular investigation, but the Minister will well know that this is not the first time that the authorities in India have undertaken such investigations into media organisations that are critical of the current Government. However, I do not think that stops the Government expressing a view, as the Minister just did, about the importance of media freedom in relation to the attempts to ban the viewing of the documentary. When we read that a spokesperson for the BJP actually described the BBC as the “most corrupt” organisation in the world, is it not incumbent upon the Government to stand up for the BBC and its integrity?
David Rutley
We stand up for the BBC. We fund the BBC. We think the BBC World Service is vital. We want the BBC to have that editorial freedom. It criticises us, it criticises the Labour party, and it has that freedom that we believe is so important. That freedom is key, and we want to be able to communicate its importance to our friends across the world, including the Government in India.