Shamelessly waving the begging bowl

Luke Johnson and Andy Duncan cut dapper figures before the House of Lords communications committee today, turning up tie-less as ever, but giving parliament some 'respec' in their smart suits. The Channel 4 chairman and chief executive were an effective double act as they trotted out the usual lines about how the broadcaster is facing a financial crunch that deserves some - as yet undefined - kind of public subsidy. Their lordships were especially vexed about news provision and to this end committee chairman Lord Fowler quoted Channel 4's head of news and current affairs, Dorothy Byrne, who had told them in an earlier session that she was "proud Channel 4 news loses more money than any other programmes we make". That wasn't quite how Johnson saw it. "Her phraseology was not ideal," he told the peers. "We do not set out to lose money, we set out to do an outstanding job of public service broadcasting." Later on he had a feisty exchange with former BBC journalist Lord Hastings, who queried whether Shameless was a show that could be said to make a "positive impact". "Have you watched Shameless?" asked Johnson, perhaps a little testily. "Yes, I have watched it - many times," Hastings replied. "So you enjoy Shameless..." ventured Johnson. Hastings shot back: "I didn't say that I enjoyed it."