Sir Richard Dannatt urges £272m grant to stay because radio service is 'relatively cheap' message and beacon of trust for millions around the world

Sir Richard Dannatt, the former head of the army, has warned the government not to cut the budget of the BBC World Service, which was a "relatively cheap" way of communication in countries where British troops were deployed, including Afghanistan.

Dannatt described the service as "a beacon of trustworthiness".

He said: "Expenditure should be protected as fiercely as possible. Both our antagonists and our friends in Afghanistan rely on BBC World Service to find out what is going on. So do our own forces, and millions of other people all over the world."

The World Service is funded by an annual £272m Foreign Office grant which is likely to be reduced as part of cuts to be announced next week.

Dannatt, who briefly advised David Cameron on defence issues after he stepped down as chief of staff last year, said cuts to the £40bn defence budget were inevitable but urged George Osborne to protect the World Service.

"Slashing it would … help the chancellor very little. If we must cut into our nation's muscle, let's not cripple our nation's message as well …

"The message comes relatively cheap."

The Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude, said this week that the World Service would not be closed, but BBC insiders fear its grant is likely to be reduced.

The foreign secretary, William Hague, has said publicly that it was important that the World Service maintains its reach but it would have to make savings.

Sources said World Service overheads could not be slashed and smaller services would have to be closed to cut costs.

Senior BBC sources say that a 10% reduction in the budget could force as many as 12 of its services off air. It broadcasts in 32 languages and is available in nearly every country.

The largest, including the Russian language and Spanish language services, which each reach several countries, are more costly and will not be closed.

Dannatt was chief of the general staff from 2006 to 2009. He makes his comment in an essay for a book, More Light, Less Heat: Who Holds Power In The Global Conversation, to be published later this year.


By James Robinson

Source:-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/15/bbc-world-service-richard-dannatt