BBC World Service being supplanted by Russia and China due to funding cuts and poor administration, warn MPs | EUROtoday

The BBC World Service is at risk of being supplanted by Russian and Chinese propaganda shops on the worldwide stage due to funding cuts and poor administration, a parliamentary committee has warned.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has issued a scathing report into the state of the World Service, warning that Britain’s gentle energy on the worldwide stage is being put in danger over “poor decision making”.

While the service, which is funded collectively by the BBC licence charge and the Foreign Office (FCDO), offered in 43 languages internationally has a mean weekly viewers of 313 million, MPs on the committee mentioned there’s a critical threat of it shedding floor to its rivals, partially due to elevated spending on worldwide media by states similar to Russia and China.

The two international locations invested a mixed whole of about £6 billion to £8 billion a 12 months in world media operations, at a time when the World Service has skilled spending cuts.

The committee additionally highlighted that belief scores have additionally “increased markedly” for Russian and Chinese state broadcasters lately, whereas the BBC’s rankings have remained secure.

The World Service’s whole funds fell by 21 per cent in actual phrases between 2021 and 2026, primarily pushed by reductions in contributions from the licence charge.

The report comes because the BBC prepares to barter the renewal of its constitution with the federal government, with the scale of the licence charge up for dialogue. The final constitution renewal in 2012 noticed the BBC conform to pay for the World Service.

MPs mentioned they had been “deeply troubled” to be taught that the BBC has not been informed how a lot the federal government will present in funding for the World Service within the coming 12 months.

The company might additionally not present the committee with “a single, transparent suite of value for money measures across the service’s TV, radio and digital offerings”.

The report added weaknesses in BBC governance had “led to poorly evidenced decisions and unclear lines of responsibility within the organisation”.

The company’s administration of the World Service’s digital improve was discovered to have had weaknesses that contributed to a fall in total digital audiences of 11% since 2021.

MPs additionally raised issues concerning the BBC’s failure to “clearly document its rationale for key decisions made as part of savings programmes”, alongside a scarcity of metrics to successfully observe efficiency and influence on its audiences.

The BBC introduced plans to ascertain a brand new worldwide governance mannequin in February 2025, however solely considered one of six regional administrators had been completely in put up by January this 12 months.

The PAC additionally concluded the federal government should work to enhance situations for World Service journalists working in harmful environments, together with the place employees and their households are liable to imprisonment.

PAC chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown mentioned: “The government must be clear-eyed about the realities of a diminishing audience for the BBC World Service.

“As it cuts again, it dangers opening the door to propaganda from hostile states similar to Russia filling the void it leaves behind, who’re spending billions of kilos on this subject.

“At a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and declining media freedom the UK cannot afford to lose such a crucial soft power instrument.”

Sir Geoffrey described the World Service’s productions and academic content material as “amazing and a jewel in the crown of the UK’s soft power effort around the world”.

But he warned its prominence is “being diminished by poor governance and short-sighted funding decisions”.

The Tory committee chairman added: “My committee is urging the government and the BBC to set out a clear direction of travel for the World Service to ensure that its audience is not left behind.”

Sir Geoffrey warned that the federal government and the BBC ought to look at how the affect of the World Service could be bolstered, “rather than risk its reach withering by degrees year on year”.

“And importantly, journalists working in increasingly dangerous environments deserve more than just our praise, the UK Government must do all it can to improve the conditions they are working in and to protect and restore media freedoms globally,” he added.

A BBC spokesperson mentioned: “We welcome the PAC’s report which recognises the importance of the BBC World Service as the most trusted international news provider globally, and the need for secure, long-term funding. This is why we are calling for the Government to take back full funding of the World Service as part of the BBC Charter Review.

“We are making adjustments to strengthen how we display worth for cash and to enhance governance and documentation.

“We thank the committee for their praise of our staff working in difficult and dangerous conditions and will respond to them more fully in line with their recommendations.”

FCDO Minister, Chris Elmore MP mentioned: “The work the World Service does as an impartial and trusted broadcaster, showcasing the UK, our tradition, and our values across the globe, is extremely valued by this authorities.

“Grant-in-Aid funding for the next three years for the World Service will be decided through the FCDO allocations process.

“The FCDO’s final World Service overall allocations will be made before the beginning of the 2026/27 financial year.”