Editorial freedom is important: UK strongly defends BBC after I-T survey at Delhi, Mumbai offices

A week after the Income Tax officials ‘surveyed’ BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai for nearly 59 hours, the UK government, during a Parliament debate on Tuesday, strongly defended.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and said the broadcaster’s editorial freedom is vitally important and issues related to the “raids” were raised with the Indian government. It was also said during the debate that the UK is very proud of its press freedoms.

“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,” Tory MP David Rutley said, noting that the BBC criticises the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.

“That freedom is key, and we want to be able to communicate its importance to our friends across the world, including the government in India,” he said, responding to questions on the raid and freedom of expression in India. Rutley also said the UK and India had a “broad and deep relationship” and this particular issue had been raised with the government.

Jim Shannon, of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), had kicked off the debate saying the “raid” was “a deliberate act of intimidation following the release of an unflattering documentary about the country’s leader”.

Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, on the other hand, said it was particularly worrying that the BBC staff had been forced to stay in their offices overnight and have faced lengthy questioning. “In any democracy, the media must have the ability to criticise and scrutinise political leaders without fear of repercussions, and that clearly applies in this situation,” he added.

Also, Britain’s first turbaned Sikh MP, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, was one among those who raised questions on the Income-Tax survey on BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. During a question hour session, the British Sikh MP said, “We in the UK are very proud of our press freedoms and indeed are accustomed to the BBC and other reputable media outlets for holding to account in a devastating manner the UK government, its prime minister and opposition parties.”

The BBC India offices were surveyed by the Income-Tax department over issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies. The mobile phones and laptops of employees were scanned during the survey that lasted three days.

After the survey ended, the BBC in a statement said it would continue to report without fear or favour.

Meanwhile, the tax authorities have alleged various tax-linked irregularities against the London-headquartered company and accused it of using “dilatory tactics” during the course of the survey.

The Income-Tax department also said the income and profits shown by various BBC group entities are “not commensurate” with the scale of their operations in India and tax has not been paid on certain remittances by its foreign entities.