Written question asked by Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 7 February 2012.

Broadcasting: Press TV

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ask Ofcom to provide their reasoning for revoking the licence of the Press TV English service.

Answer: The matter raised is an operational one for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Accordingly, my officials spoke to Ofcom, who advised: During the course of an investigation into Press TV for its broadcasting an interview obtained under duress from the Newsweek and Channel 4 journalist Maziar Bahari, it became clear that the editorial control of the channel rested with Press TV International, which is based in Tehran. The Communications Act requires that a licence is held by the person who is in general control of the TV service: that is, the person who chooses which programmes are shown on the service and organises the programme schedule. In this case the wrong person held the licence (Press TV Ltd, who did not have full editorial control).

Secondary information