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The United Kingdom Government is considering cuts in its BBC World Service Grant in the expense review, with the broadcaster’s broadcaster for changes to his budget as a result of recently announced foreign aid cuts.
BBC Director General Tim Davie has said that the corporation is preparing to engage with foreign offices officials on the consequences of the decision.
“In the last days we have been asked to prepare for further engagement with FCdo (Foreign Office, Commonwealth and Development) in the influence of reducing development costs abroad,” he wrote in the committees of the heads of development, culture and international work of parliament.
He added: “We will be happy to keep you posted if this results in financial implications in the world service in 2026-27 and beyond.”
Most of the world service grant comes from the official assistance budget, while a small part is emanated from other funding pots within the foreign office.
Government officials said cuts at the BBC World Service Grant are among those under consideration, but insisted that no final decisions were made.
Sir Keir Starmer announced Planet last month to reduce the UK assistance in order to finance an increase in protection spending by 2027. Officials are now demanding about £ 6 billion from the official development budget over the next two years.
BBC executives are concerned that the government will use abroad cuts to force through a further budget squeeze for world service later this year.
Jonathan Munro, Global BBC News, told Financial Times that “while press freedom drastically reduces, disinformation thrives and the state -backed media aggressively progresses, the role of world service) is increasingly important.”
He added: “We need a sustainable, long -term financing solution that enables world service to meet these global challenges and invest in future services.”
In the fall budget, the department provided a 30 percent increase in state funds for world service in 2025-26, taking on the government grant to £ 137m.
Davie told MPs last week that the money “ends in April 2026” and “is just to keep the show on the street, let alone (make) the right investments”.
He said he “did not know” about the implications of the government’s decision to change foreign aid, but added: “I would suggest it is probably not positive.”
Sarah Champion, the President of the International Development Committee, said: “The world service is the jewel in the Crown of Britain, believed it all over the world. . . When the services are cut, Russia and China have filled the space with very different objectives. “
Some in the BBC have sailed the government’s idea by fully funding world service again. BBC chairman Samir Shah told MPs in the Committee that if the government would “get the world service again, it would save us a few £ 100m a year. (But) this is not in my gift.”
Last week, the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told FT that almost every element of the aid budget is being considered “line from line” for possible cuts as part of the inter-white expense review that will report in June.
People within FCdo are tight for wider cuts in their department in reviewing spending, beyond reducing aid budget. A cut on the department’s diplomatic account is another option that has sparked the alarm between the former martyrs.
Lammy has previously been a determined BBC defender, calling him one of the main institutions that make up the soft power of the UK abroad, which in turn described as one of Britain’s “biggest points” last year.
He gathered criticism of the conservatives for undermining the broadcaster in an essay that determines his foreign policy approach before the general election last summer.
FCdo officials stressed that the BBC funding model would be viewed in the next corporate review.
However, they stressed that the government’s support for world service was demonstrated in the budget last October.
Officials show that they are alive for the arguments made by the BBC interior that the world service carries out an essential task in opposing misinformation abroad.
Fcdo said: “The government greatly appreciates the BBC world service, which reaches a global 320MN audience, and remains the world’s most trusted international news service.”
