MR EDWARD STOURTON AND TODAY PROGRAMME

Early day motion 293, tabled 15 December 2008 by Keith Vaz (Labour). Signed by 88 members.

That this House deplores the sacking of Edward Stourton as a presenter of the Today programme; calls upon the Chairman of the BBC Trust, who represents the licence fee payer, to investigate how his sacking came to be notified to him by a journalist from the Independent on Sunday; notes that Mr Stourton commands huge respect for the undoubted impartiality and intellectual rigour he brings to the Today programme; further notes that Jonathan Ross has been retained by the same BBC management team that has dispensed with Mr Stourton; and calls on the BBC to reinstate Mr Stourton as a presenter on the Today programme forthwith.

Signatures by party: Conservative 38, Labour 30, Liberal Democrat 14, Scottish National Party 2, DUP 1, Independent 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.