Channel 4 headquarters
(Picture: PA Wire)Liz Truss’s government will “re-examine” the case for the sale of Channel 4, a Cabinet minister has said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the review would look at whether the government wishes to go ahead with the sell-off.
Under the previous government, the then Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, had announced plans to privatise the broadcaster, and to also freeze the BBC’s licence fee.
But Ms Donelan said: “We are looking especially at the business case for the sale of Channel 4 and making sure that we still agree with that decision, and that is what I am doing.
“I’m the type of politician that bases their decisions on evidence, that bases their decisions on listening and that’s what I will be doing over the coming weeks.
“I will take that approach when it comes to Channel 4 and every aspect of my brief.”
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, when asked whether there was “a bit of room for manoeuvre" regarding the sale, she insisted: "I think it just means that I’m looking at the business case but I will update you once I’ve done so.”
Ms Donelan, who represents the Chippenham constituency, also said she would look “in the round” in the BBC licence fee, declining to say whether it could be scrapped.
She added during a broadcast round on Tuesday: “It is no secret that I have been a long-term sceptic of the licence fee and that we need to make sure that the BBC is sustainable in the long term.”
In January, Ms Dorries announced that the licence fee would be frozen at £159 for the next two years until April 2024.
She said she wanted to find a new funding model before the current deal expires in 2027 as it is “completely outdated".
The review was due to begin before the Commons summer recess on July 22 but was thrown into doubt after Mr Johnson’s resignation as Tory leader.
John McVay, chief executive of Pact, the trade body for independent TV and film production companies, said: "The new Prime Minister has made it clear her priority is to drive growth.
"Privatising Channel 4 would do the opposite, endangering the future of thousands of British production companies and endangering the future prospects of a thriving industry which has a presence right across the country.
"It literally makes no sense to try and find a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist and that is why I am delighted that the new Culture Secretary has committed to re-examining the business case for privatising Channel 4.”
