High Peak Liberal Democrats

Commenting on Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten's speech at the Oxford Media Convention, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee on Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Don Foster said:

"Lord Patten gets the final word and with it he says what we've all been thinking.

"The BBC won't improve itself by stripping away some of its most valued work. Seven million people listen to BBC local radio across the UK and it is a lifeline for older people and the disabled.

"We can't expect easy solutions to the BBC's challenges but it should be possible to meet them without harming local radio and regional TV."

In his speech to the Oxford Media Convention, Lord Patten said that the Trust should ensure that the BBC's local radio stations remain as local as they are now and that these stations are always supported with sufficient journalistic resources.