Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the BBC and NATO on more effective use of the BBC World Service to counter inaccurate reporting from Russian media outlets.

Mr David Lidington

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in consultation with partners and allies on how to achieve greater access to quality, independent BBC content in countries with significant Russian speaking populations.

The Government is investing additional funds in the BBC’s digital, TV and radio services around the world to build the global reach of the World Service and increase access to news and information, including additional programming for Russian speakers. It is for the BBC, as an independent broadcaster, to take its own decision about scheduling and programme control.