BBC Chief in talks with No 10 over selling cuts

It’s emerged that the BBC’s Chief Executive Mark Thompson has had a discreet meeting with David Cameron’s senior aides about the BBC’s current and forthcoming coverage of the Government’s spending.

According to the Telegraph article the need for a meeting seems to stem from Government aides and Ministers being furious with the BBC’s coverage so far and wanting the licence fee scrapped or at least frozen and the BBC taking a more proactive line in terms of its future.

It states ‘The unusual private meeting appears to have been Mr Thompson’s latest attempt to assure senior Conservative figures that the BBC is not biased against the Government. It is understood that he had no similar meetings about editorial content with Gordon Brown or his officials.

The secret meeting took place amid growing Government indications that the BBC licence fee should be reduced. Against this background, Mr Thompson may face accusations that he was unwise to discuss editorial content – a task normally left to more junior figures or reporters.

Senior Conservative Cabinet ministers are privately furious at the alleged bias of the BBC when reporting the Coalition’s public spending plans.

However, details of the secret meeting will spark allegations that the BBC is seeking to "cosy up" to Mr Cameron in an attempt to avoid the swingeing cuts facing the rest of the public sector.'

The article goes on to talk about this and other meetings between Government officials and the BBC over what look like ongoing concerns ‘A BBC spokesman said: "The director-general has made it repeatedly clear that the impartiality of the BBC is paramount.

"In the meeting today the director-general in his role as editor-in-chief discussed the possible participation of a number of members of the Government in the BBC's coverage of the spending review this autumn.

"The BBC has regular meetings with both government and opposition parties. Both he and colleagues will also be talking to all the main political parties on this issue."
Details of the meeting emerged after Mr Thompson was photographed in Downing Street holding a briefing note prepared for the meeting. He was arriving to meet Steve Hilton, Mr Cameron’s director of strategy.

The briefing note discloses that Andy Coulson, Mr Cameron’s communications director, was "concerned" that a forthcoming series of reports on the Government’s public spending review had the correct "context".

Mr Coulson made his concerns known to Helen Boaden, the BBC’s head of news, at a recent lunch meeting. Miss Boaden is understood to have "reassured" Mr Coulson over his concerns.

In the note for Mr Thompson, Miss Boaden provided Mr Thompson with a detailed list of all the positive news coverage that the BBC was planning, or had already broadcast.’

So Rupert Murdoch is not the only media big wig with special access to Prime Minister's and 10 Downing Street and we can assume that this applies to BBC Wales TV and Radio spending cuts coverage as well.

If so has anyone given any thought as to the consequences of surrendering of Editorial freedom will have on the Welsh media in the months and years ahead, no i didn't think so either.Any source