‘Editorial freedom vitally important’: UK MPs defend BBC following I-T survey in India

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• UK MPs defended BBC following the I-T survey in India
• Tory MP David Rutley said that they want BBC to have the editorial freedom
• North Ireland's DUP MP Jim Shannon called the survey a 'deliberate act of intimidation'

UK MPs, during a Parliament debate on Tuesday, defended the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that was surveyed by the Income Tax department citing issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies. They said that the editorial freedom of the broadcaster was vitally important. 

Tory MP David Rutley said, “We stand up for the BBC, we fund the BBC, we think the BBC World Service is vitally important. We want the BBC to have that editorial freedom,” further adding that the broadcaster criticises the Conservative and the Labour parties in the UK too. 

Responding to questions on the raid and freedom of expression in India, Rutley said that freedom is key and that they want to communicate its importance to their friends across the world, including India. 

The debate was kicked off by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) Jim Shannon who termed the surveys as a “deliberate act of intimidation following the release of an unflattering documentary about the country’s leader”. The survey came after the BBC released a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government during the Godhra riots of 2002. 

The survey was carried on for 59 hours in the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Laptops and mobile phones of employees were also scanned in the survey that lasted three days. 

Pointing that out, Labour MP Fabian Hamilton said that it was particularly worrying that BBC staff members were forced to stay in their offices overnight and were made to face lengthy questioning. Hamilton said that the media must have the ability to criticise and scrutinise political leaders in any democracy without the fear of repercussions. 

MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said during a question hour session that the UK is very proud of its press freedom and is accustomed to the BBC and other reputable media outlets holding the UK government, prime minister, and opposition parties accountable in a devastating manner. He said that that’s why they are so concerned about the BBC survey in India. 

After the survey, the BBC said that it would continue to report without fear or favour. 

Meanwhile, the Income Tax department said that income and profit shown by the broadcaster and its entities are “not commensurate” with their scale of operations in India, and that taxes were not paid on certain remittances by its foreign entities. 

Also read: 'Don't delete data...': BBC tells staff to co-operate; I-T 'survey' stretches to 50 hours

Also read: ‘Irregularities detected in tax payments’: Income Tax Dept on ‘survey’ at BBC