BBC WORLD SERVICE'S EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE

That this House is opposed to the outsourcing of BBC World Service jobs from the UK; is gravely concerned at the arrangement the BBC has entered into with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), detailed in a letter from the Corporation's South Asian Business Development Manager to PEMRA on 12th May 2007, which gives the Pakistan authority, an agency of a foreign state, prior clearance for all contents and programmes transmitted on behalf of the World Service by local Pakistani stations; notes that a commitment to editorial independence is enshrined in the BBC's Charter; believes that the arrangement with PEMRA jeopardises that independence; and calls on the Government to withhold its approval for this and similar arrangements.