Selling off Channel 4 would do 'great damage' to Leeds and North, MP warns Ministers

Plans to sell off Channel 4 will do “great damage” to Leeds and the north and Ministers would be better off leaving it alone, MPs have warned.

The interventions come as Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is today set to unveil plans for privatisation alongside other wide ranging reforms broadcasting reforms .

Previewing the announcement, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that the proposals will allow public service broadcasters to “compete fairly” with global giants such as Netflix and help them “continue to make shows loved at home and abroad and support the UK’s booming production sector”.

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However, MPs on both sides of the political divide shared their concerns about the sell-off in Parliament yesterday, with one Yorkshire politician fearing the plans will do “great damage” to Leeds and the surrounding creative industries.

Culture Secretary Nadine DorriesCulture Secretary Nadine Dorries
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries

Father of the House Sir Peter Bottomley encouraged colleagues to leave the broadcaster be, as he told the Commons: “Channel 4 is in the best state it’s been creatively and financially for decades.”

He added: “The Government could do best by leaving it alone.”

Meanwhile, Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman accused Downing Street of being “determined to undermine public service broadcasting in our country” and described the sell off as “part of a wider attack on the BBC on all public service broadcasting.”

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He added: “This will do great damage to Leeds, to the creative industries in the north of England.”

Channel 4 supports hundreds of jobs in Leeds, having opened its out-of-London base there last year.

It is thought that the Channel’s existing obligations when it comes to regional production outside of the capital will be maintained as a part of the sell-off, but one Yorkshire MP had questions about any “safeguards” that will be given to the Leeds base.

Former journalist and Colne Valley Conservative MP Jason McCartney asked: “How do these proposals genuinely fit in with our levelling up agenda? What protections and safeguards would be put in place to ensure Channel 4’s HQ not only stays in Leeds but continues to flourish there?

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“What safeguards can be put on Channel 4’s excellent commitment to quality regional TV production so it can continue to flourish, particularly as at the moment Channel 4 invests more in independent production companies outside of London than any other broadcaster and supports thousands of jobs outside of London?”

Speaking ahead of the White Paper’s release today, Ms Dorries said: “The UK’s TV and radio industries are world-renowned for their creativity, driven by exceptional talent that is delivering groundbreaking public service programming.

“Set against the backdrop of the digital transformation of our viewing habits, today’s plans will revamp decades-old laws to help our public service broadcasters compete in the internet age and usher in a new golden age for British TV and radio.

“This will provide jobs and growth in the future along with the content we all love.”

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Today’s plans will also reveal changes to the rules governing how sport’s biggest events such as the World Cup and Olympic Games can be viewed in the UK.

Ministers have said they will look to make so-called ‘Group A events’ – those which are of great national interest such as World Cups and Euros, the Wimbledon singles finals and the Grand National – a benefit specific to free-to-air public service broadcasters.

It comes after last year’s BBC Olympic coverage faced criticism following the sub-licensing agreement struck with Discovery, which put a proportion of the coverage behind a paywall for the first time.