BBC WORLD SERVICE AND THAILAND

Early day motion 1364, tabled 12 January 2006 by John Grogan (Labour). Signed by 71 members.

That this House expresses concern at the closure of the BBC Thai Service on 13th January 2006; notes the widespread unease regarding the ending of the service which first broadcast in 1941 and which has resulted in a petition from Thailand to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; further notes that all recent reputable surveys such as `Reporters Without Frontiers' have downgraded Thailand in the press freedom league thus underlining the importance of the BBC Thailand Service; is encouraged by the recent doubling of the audience for the service; further notes the admission by the BBC World Service that the decision to close the station, which operated on an annual budget of £800,000, was the most difficult of its recent decisions concerning closures; and calls upon the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the BBC World Service to review the decision and also requests the Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation of Members of Parliament visiting Thailand in February 2006 to investigate the issue.

Signatures by party: Labour 42, Conservative 11, Liberal Democrat 8, DUP 6, Plaid Cymru 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1.