Boris Johnson says Channel 4 sale could lead to 'more jobs' in Leeds, but won't commit to Yorkshire base staying open

The Prime Minister believes that the privatisation means the company can “get in much more commercial investment,” in line with plans laid out in a White Paper yesterday.

However, a consultation on the moves to take Channel 4 out of public ownership suggests there is significant opposition to the idea.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post last night after a visit to Leeds, Mr Johnson was asked to “guarantee” that the Leeds office would stay open. He said: “I can guarantee that there’s a massive opportunity for Channel 4 in Leeds to get bigger and attract investment.

“What we’re saying is that Channel 4 can really go for it, expand, get in much more commercial investment from around the world, anywhere that it wants and I think it will lead to more jobs in Leeds, not fewer.”

Asked again whether that office would “stay open”, Mr Johnson responded: “I think there is the opportunity not just to keep it but to expand it.”

Channel 4 opened their Yorkshire office last year as part of their plans to expand output outside of London, and supports hundreds of jobs. Yesterday's White Paper suggest that Channel 4’s regional obligations outside of London and England “will be maintained”, but contained no more detail.

“The Government also recognises Channel 4’s commitment to levelling up” the paper said, “and its support for national and regional economies.”

Yesterday, a White Paper laid out wide ranging reforms of broadcasting, including detailing the Government’s belief that public ownership is constraining Channel 4’s “ability to respond to the challenges and opportunities” of the “changing broadcast market”.

However, the accompanying consultation document said that almost 96 per cent of respondents had answered ‘no’ to the suggestion that there are ‘barriers’ to Channel 4 being sustainable in the public market.

This question had been reframed by campaign group 38 degrees as ‘do you think Channel 4 should be privatised”.

Mr Johnson said that “people can be very conservative about their views of the way the media operates.”

He added: “All the evidence that I’ve seen is that the most creative and dynamic media organisations now are not in the state sector.” Some in the consultation were concerned a private buyer would “put profits and efficiencies before levelling up”.

But the Government said Channel 4’s network and its “ability to speak to a diverse range of audiences across the UK” are “attractive assets” that a buyer “will look to nurture and develop”.

The White Paper released yesterday afternoon set out Ministers’ belief that “now is the right time for the Government to pursue a change of ownership of Channel 4” as Ministers have a “responsibility” to look to the future when it comes to public service broadcasting.

“We believe that the investment in content and technology needed to succeed in this rapidly changing media landscape will be delivered at greater scale and with greater pace under private ownership, supported by private-sector capital, rather than asking the taxpayer to bear the associated risk,” the document set out.

Ms Dorries wrote in the i newspaper yesterday morning that the broadcaster had been “a true disruptor – shaking up schedules with new and daring content, while supporting a

boom in our indie production sector”.

She added: “A sale would release Channel 4 from the outdated shackles of public ownership. It would allow it to turn on the private funding taps, and invest heavily in new technology and programming.”