Questions in the House

Events yesterday conspired to see the irrepressible Austin Mitchell leap out of the hat in the lottery to ask questions of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport James Purnell. Other MPs got stuck in too - read the full report here. Purnell, one of the prime architects of Ofcom, confirmed that 'This House made it very clear through the Communications Act 2003 that it expected regional television to be right at the heart of what ITV does... '
ITV and Ofcom should heed the advice given by Mr Purnell to 'take into account the strong feelings expressed about (the plans) in this House.'

Meet the Minister

No photos allowed at Portcullis house in Westminster so you'll have to trust we were there this afternoon. The NUJ's parliamentary group had arranged a meeting with interested MPs and the secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport James Purnell. We met and put the case for ITV local and regional news - including our ideas around future funding mechanisms. The minister agreed that nothing which comes out of the Ofcom reviews in the next year will pre-empt the bigger picture on the future of public service broadcasting. He also gave us the heartfelt assurance that he's a strong supporter of PSB and that he believes its of central cultural importance to Britain. We told him that once it's gone it's gone and turning the clock back will be very tough.