Bob Geldof's latest target: the DCMS

Bob Geldof has lent his weight to calls for Northern Ireland to be included in the pilots for the government's planned independently financed news consortiums. Ten Alps, the production company he founded, wants the chance to be bid against the present provider of channel 3 news in Northern Ireland, UTV. But while there will be pilots in Scotland, Wales and one English region, Northern Ireland has not been included because – unlike ITV and STV – UTV says its funding model is working. Geldof isn't happy with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. To say the least. "It seems to be OK that England, Wales and Scotland will get millions of pounds flowing their way to test out new ways and new media for delivering local news but not Northern Ireland," he said in a broadcast to last night's Slugger O'Toole awards that you can see here. It shouldn't just be handed to UTV, he said. "That to me sounds like the some sort of stitch-up and if it's not that then sure it's just incompetence and if it's not that then what is it? Some chosen way of deciding that somehow NI will be treated in a lesser way than the rest of the UK. Well forget it." Or in other words: "Give us your fucking money, DCMS."