Government pulls rank as World Service faces cuts of 40 per cent

The BBC is embroiled in a row with the Government over cuts in funding for the World Service.

Officials at the Foreign Office have told the BBC to expect a reduction of up to 40 per cent in its annual £280 million budget.
BBC sources say transmissions in Russia and Central and South America face the axe as executives have decided to prioritise broadcasts in regions of greater geopolitical significance, including poverty-stricken Africa, the politically troubled Middle East and Asia, with its increasingly influential commercial markets.
The World Service – which broadcasts to 180 million people globally every week – began broadcasting to English-speaking former colonies in 1932.
A senior BBC source said: ‘These cuts will have a major impact on how Britain is viewed around the world.
'We have regular coaches of misty-eyed Russians turning up at Bush House [the World Service London HQ] eager to see the institution that helped to sustain them through the Cold War.’
It is understood the BBC will announce the end of broadcasts to Russia and Latin America in October when the Government finalises its spending review.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘We are engaging with the Foreign Office as part of the Government’s spending review. We continue to argue confidently for the BBC World Service as one of Britain’s most effective national assets.’
A Foreign Office spokesman refused to comment before the spending review announcement.


Source:-"The Mail On Sunday"

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