The foreign secretary, William Hague, today confirmed that the BBC World Service is facing cuts as part of the government's spending review but tried to allay concerns that this could threaten broadcasts to countries such as Burma.
Hague said the spending review would "undoubtedly affect the World Service" but added that no decisions had yet been taken. The World Service's Burma operation did not cost very much to run, he said, and the chances he would recommend its closure were "correspondingly small".
However, it will be up to World Service executives to decide how to achieve the cuts imposed by the spending review.
The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, today admitted the corporation is engaged in "robust" discussions with the government about a reduction in the World Service's £272m annual Foreign Office direct grant. He warned that it would lead to the closure of services to some countries. Lyons also appealed to the government to spend more rather than less on the World Service, saying it was a "cost-effective" way of seeking to influence global opinion.
Hague told the Commons foreign affairs committee that he would soon be telling the World Service what he thought it could achieve as a "contribution" to the spending review. But he said the BBC Burma service "does not cost very much" and closing it "probably wouldn't be a very good way of saving money".
"Here am I as someone who in opposition has appeared on platforms with Burmese human rights activists, launched books with Burmese human rights activists and been on the World Service talking about Burma and the importance of communicating into it. The chances that I'm then going to sit in my office and say, 'let's close the World Service into Burma' are correspondingly small."
Hague said he attached "huge importance" to the World Service and wanted it to maintain a "global reach". It was a "fundamentally important part of Britain's presence in the world".
In a separate hearing before the Commons culture committee, Lyons defended the World Service. "We're talking about an audience of 180m in the last year [and] very modest expenditure for Britain to have its voice heard by that large an audience," he said. "Far from spending less, it's an area where you could really get that [influence] by spending more."
He refused to be drawn on the size of the cuts the Foreign Office is seeking but warned that they would lead to services being closed. "It would have an effect on services. The parameters of the conversation are the same as the rest of the FCO and the rest of government."
