BBC AND JERRY SPRINGER - THE OPERA

Early day motion 502, tabled 13 January 2005 by Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP). Signed by 77 members.

That this House regards with dismay the decision by the BBC to broadcast Jerry Springer - The Opera on BBC 2, causing widespread offence to Christians and those of other faiths by its mocking portrayal of Jesus Christ, Holy Communion, and some of the central tenets of the Christian faith; condemns the show's juvenile and offensive use of repeated profanity in an attempt at humour; further notes that it is particularly serious that the show should have been transmitted by the publicly-funded national broadcaster and questions whether it places the Corporation in breach of its charter; laments the dismissal of Christian concerns by the Director General of the BBC; condemns the serious decline in general of the moral and spiritual content of programmes aired by the BBC; and calls on the Government to publicly rebuke the Corporation for its attack on the religion adhered to by over 70 per cent. of the UK population and for its lowest common denominator approach to ethics in its attempts to chase ratings.

Signatures by party: Conservative 34, Labour 26, DUP 7, Labour/Co-operative 3, UUP 3, Liberal Democrat 2, Independent 1, Scottish National Party 1.