BBC Expenses

EDM number 392 in 1994-95, proposed by Michael Fabricant on 17/01/1995.

That this House seeks reassurance that while the BBC is rigidly adhering to Inland Revenue procedures whereby journalists recently attending the opening of the editing suites for use by the Arabic section of the BBC World Television Service were subsequently informed that they had incurred a taxable benefit of ú1.43 and that this would be reported to the Inland Revenue, it is not the case that the satellite link equipment at the BBC's news centre in Moscow was used by a BBC Moscow correspondent to make unauthorised international telephone calls to United Kingdom sex lines and to hear football commentaries; would welcome information as to the transfer from Moscow of the BBC correspondent Kevin Connolly; however, congratulates Christopher Cramer, Head of Newsgathering in the BBC, for instituting tighter management and financial controls on BBC overseas correspondents; and urges the Director General immediately to institute similar management and financial controls on senior BBC editors and reporters, including those appointed directly by the Director General himself, and so reassure the licence payer of the efficacy of BBC news and current affairs operations. (Relevant registered interest declared.)

This motion has been signed by a total of 1 MPs.