Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including John Whittingdale’s Commons statement about the BBC white paper
4.06pm BST
There is a campaign representing those who think we should stay in the European Union, and the prime minister is speaking for them. And then there is a recognised campaign for those who think we would be better off outside the European Union, and yet the person who has been invited to debate with the prime minister does not come from that campaign. I find that extraordinary ... The idea that the prime minister has attempted to tell ITV who they should invite or who they should not invite seems to me extraordinary.
As the culture secretary, no. As a supporter of Vote Leave, I will understand why Vote Leave may wish to make a complaint.
Europe is the one continent in the world which was built not just on being a marketplace, but built on there being social rights and social responsibilities that we all accept.
I would think that we would send out a terrible message to the world if Britain - which has led the way in so many different respects in building the Europe that we have and in trying to make it a more humane and civilised place - simply walked away on June 23rd.
3.37pm BST
The Conservative party has said that it has supplied the Electoral Commission with the information it requested as part of its investigation into the overspending allegations by lunchtime today. (See 2.57pm.) A party spokesperson said:
We advised the Electoral Commission on 29th April that we would comply with their notices by 1pm today. There was no need for them to make this application to the high court.
3.23pm BST
The TaxPayers’ Alliance says the government should have gone further in its white paper and got rid of the licence fee. Jonathan Isaby, its chief executive, said:
It is regrettable that the government has ducked the opportunity for substantial reform of the regressive and arcane TV licence fee.
With the technology now in place for people to subscribe to their choice of thousands of competing channels and watch them wherever they happen to be, the time has surely come to explore a new, fairer funding model fit for the 21st century.
3.18pm BST
Here is the science broadcaster Brian Cox on the the BBC white paper.
BBC Charter renewal now looks sensible, subject to reducing ministerial influence over appointments to the board. https://t.co/n5e1o9IwOS
3.15pm BST
This is what Ofcom is saying about the government’s plans to put it in charge of regulating the BBC. A spokesperson said:
We are reviewing the white paper proposals carefully and we will work constructively with the government, the BBC and the BBC Trust on next steps. The government is proposing a significant extension to Ofcom’s remit. We are confident that, with the right resources and planning, we can undertake our new responsibilities effectively and independently.
3.13pm BST
The BBC licence fee is likely to rise by £15 over the next five years, under plans outlined in the government’s white paper. As the Press Association reports, it has been frozen at £145.50 for the past six years, but will now increase in line with inflation starting from next year. The cost of a licence is forecast to reach £160.50 by 2021/22 – the equivalent of 44 pence per day. It will provide the BBC with over £18bn of public money between 2017/18 and 2021/22.
2.59pm BST
And John Whittingdale has told ITV’s Allegra Stratton that Vote Leave may ask Ofcom to adjudicate on ITV’s decision not to invite it to its first EU referendum event.
John Whittingdale just told me Vote Leave could refer ITV's Cameron - Farage duel to Ofcom and their case would be "fair". Transcript coming
2.57pm BST
The Electoral Commission has announced today that it is going to court to get the Conservative party to disclose information relevant to the allegations that it broke election rules by overspending in three byelections in the last parliament and in some constituency contests in the general election.
It is going to court because the Tories have not responded satisfactorily to requests for the information to be handed over. Here is an extract from the commission’s news release.
Using its powers under PPERA, and in line with its Enforcement Policy, the Electoral Commission may issue a statutory notice requiring any person, including a registered party, to provide us with specific documents and/or information as part of an investigation. This places the recipient under a legal obligation to provide the required material. However, if the recipient does not comply with this statutory notice, the Commission may apply to the High Court for a disclosure order which if granted would be the court compelling the Respondent to release the required documents and information to the Commission.
The Commission issued the Conservative and Unionist Party with two statutory notices requiring the provision of material relevant to its investigation. However, the Party has only provided limited disclosure of material in response to the first notice (issued on 18 February 2016) and no material in response to the second notice (issued on 23 March 2016). That follows the Commission granting extensions of time to comply.
2.48pm BST
John Whittingdale has been speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg. According to her tweets, here are the main lines.
John Whittingdale tells me it is 'extroardinary' that ITV isn't inviting anyone from Vote Leave to be part of its #euref debate and..
Whittingdale says it's 'extraordinary' if the PM won't debate anyone from the official campaign
Whittingdale also tells me scheduling won't be anything to do with govt BUT-he hopes the new board will take commercial rivals into account
So govt isn't going to move (or sequins forbid) scrap Strictly, but under 'distinctiveness', ministers hope BBC'll consider impact on rivals
2.16pm BST
And this is what Tony Hall, the BBC director general, told the World at One about Sir Michael Lyons’ claim about the BBC showing bias in response to political pressure. (See 2.06pm.)
That is an extraordinary claim to make, that our journalists and our journalism would in any way not treat impartially all sides of arguments during a review of the charter. That’s not the journalism I know. I think the journalism of the BBC is impartial. We test all sides. The journalists at the BBC do a really hard job in the midst of controversy bringing light and calm judgments to what is going on.
I don’t recognise [Lyons’ claim]. I think our journalists do an extraordinary job. And it’s why, in polls, time after time people come to the BBC to find out what is going on. It is why we are the most trusted news source in the UK, and I believe our journalists are doing a fine job, through the general election, through local elections, through referenda, in bringing light to controversy.
2.06pm BST
Here are the key points from Sir Michael Lyons’ interview with the World at One. Lyons was chair of the BBC Trust from 2007 to 2011. He spent much of his career in local government, in chief executive posts, but he was also briefly a Labour councillor in the early 1980s.
I don’t think I’m alone in feeling that the BBC has sought to hedge its bets of late. There have been some quite extraordinary attacks on the elected leader of the Labour party, quite extraordinary. I can understand why people are worried about whether some of the most senior editorial voices in the BBC have lost their impartiality on this.
All I’m voicing is the anxiety that has been expressed publicly by others.
We had here a charter review process which has been littered with wild kites flown which, we can’t see the string is held by the secretary of state, but the suspicion is that actually it’s people very close to him. His own comments have suggested that he might be blessed by a future without the BBC. Is the BBC strong enough to withstand a challenge to its integrity and impartiality?
The really big question is, is the BBC safe from interference by this government? Because this process has certainly led to very real suspicions that ministers want to get much closer to the BBC, and that is not in anybody’s interests.
1.39pm BST
Here is the Guardian story about the BBC funding 150 local journalists.
Related: BBC to fund 150 local news journalists
1.36pm BST
On the World at One Sir Michael Lyons, a former chair of the BBC Trust, has just claimed that political pressure has led to the BBC being biased against Labour, and Jeremy Corbyn in particular.
Sir Michael Lyons: Understands why people worried if senior BBC editorial voices have lost their impartiality #wato pic.twitter.com/N9bVieDHRb
1.27pm BST
Maria Eagle, the shadow culture secretary, has now put out a statement about the white paper. It echoes the comments she was making in the Commons, when she replied to John Whittingdale, although the overall tone is perhaps marginally more critical.
The Tories have been forced to backtrack on many of their most extreme proposals for the BBC because they were out of step with the overwhelming majority of the public.
We know that John Whittingdale is hostile to the BBC, and there is still much in this White Paper which falls short of the three tests Labour has set on editorial independence, financial independence, and the BBC’s core mission.
1.13pm BST
The BBC Radio 2 and Top Gear presenter Chris Evans says stars like him are paid too much. As the Metro reports, he said he should be paid less.
People who do what I do for a living compared to people in the real world, get paid too much money.
We’ve got jobs that people would pay to do – if they could afford it – and sometimes those things aren’t even available to buy.
1.05pm BST
Lord Alli, the Labour peer and TV executive, has released a statement describing the white paper as a “ticking timebomb” under the BBC. A founder of the Great BBC campaign, Alli said John Whittingdale had dropped some of his “wilder proposals”. But he said the white paper could still do “real and lasting damage” to the BBC. He explained:
In my view, this is a ticking timebomb under the BBC.
This week, along with peers from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, I set out three key tests against which the white paper should be judged – independence, the licence fee and core mission.
12.56pm BST
Jesse Norman, the Conservative chair of the Commons culture committee, has welcomed the white paper, saying many of its proposals are in line with recommendations from a report his committee published in February. In particular, it called for: the abolition of the BBC Trust, making Ofcom the BBC’s main regulator, having an 11-year charter period and making the NAO the BBC’s auditor.
Norman said:
The BBC is an extraordinary institution, but it can be made better still. I am delighted that the government has adopted these recommendations from our report, which was the product of wide, expert and public consultation. We look forward to examining the substance of the white paper in detail in the coming weeks.
12.52pm BST
In his question to Whittingdale a few minutes ago the Conservative former cabinet minister Peter Lilley claimed the BBC was biased against people like him. This is from the Times’s Kaya Burgess.
Tory MP Peter Lilley just demanded the BBC includes "the views of that greatest oppressed minority in this country: those of conservatives".
12.49pm BST
This is from my colleague Joseph Harker.
BBC will now be overseen by Sharon White, Ofcom CEO. This makes her UK's most powerful Black person https://t.co/7Kqbpf6RaF #BBCwhitepaper
12.46pm BST
The National Audit Office has put out a statement saying the plan to make it the corporation’s official auditor will strengthen the BBC. It said:
The NAO’s role is to look at how public money is spent. The NAO has been auditing the BBC for a decade and this proposal would simply mean an extension of our existing work to audit the annual report and accounts and subject the Corporation to greater scrutiny – like any other public body. The BBC on a number of occasions has acknowledged the benefits of our work to shine a light on where it can improve its value for money.
The government has decided that it is time to draw BBC governance together in a single Board. We believe our continued and expanded role will form an important part of the strengthened system of governance for the BBC. It will also give the public confidence that their licence fee is being spent to best effect.
12.42pm BST
John Whittingdale condemns the petition calling for the sacking of the BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg. He claims the petition was initiated by Jeremy Corbyn supporters.
12.40pm BST
Here is our latest news story about the BBC white paper.
Related: BBC must become more accountable, says John Whittingdale
12.36pm BST
In the Commons the Labour MP Liz McInnes has just asked Whittingdale to exempt students from his plans to close the iPlayer loophole (ie, to make people pay the licence fee, even if they only watch programmes on iPlayer).
Whittingdale seemed to rule this out. He said it was important to close the loophole because it was costing the BBC money and he said people who watched programmes should pay the licence fee.
12.33pm BST
On Twitter a reader has been asking if there is a chart that explains the BBC’s governance arrangements, and how the new proposals would work.
Ever keen to oblige, I’ve found this on page 53 of the white paper (pdf).
12.28pm BST
Two chief cheerleaders for the BBC welcomed aspects of the BBC White Paper on Thursday but cited continuing concerns about the impact of government’s plans to govern the BBC on editorial independence.
Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky said he would not welcome the report immediately after it was published by culture secretary John Whittingdale.
No cuts to BBC budget, no interference in schedules, and majority on Board not appointed by Govt. This is good to hear.....#BBCwhitepaper
We've come a long way from threats to scale and scope of BBC voiced last year. Thanks to constant pressure from the public.#BBCwhitepaper
Good to hear that 'Advisory Board' of mostly business executives have been drowned out. #BBCwhitepaper
Good to hear that quality and distinctiveness is emphasised. The BBC does it anyway:now it should be left to get on with it. #BBCwhitepaper
Let's never go through again 10 or so months of uncertainty and anti-BBC tone that damaged the best TV industry in the world. #BBCwhitepaper
And let's keep up the pressure on editorial independence of the BBC. And start thinking now of Channel 4. #BBCwhitepaper
This has been a long, tough dialogue. Now's time to celebrate and support a brilliant broadcaster. #BBCwhitepaper
12.24pm BST
Here is the Guardian’s key points guide to the contents of the white paper.
Related: BBC white paper: key points at a glance
12.23pm BST
In the Commons the Labour MP David Lammy welcomes the plans to strengthen the BBC’s commitment to diversity. But will extra funds be available for this, he asks.
Whittingdale says he will continue to speak to the BBC about this.
12.21pm BST
The BBC has also today released a 7-page letter (pdf) from Tony Hall, the director general, to the UK government and the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland setting out details of the BBC’s plans to enhance coverage of the regions and nations of the UK.
Here is an extract from the letter.
In the months to come we will be saying more about our commitments to broadcasting in the Nations, including announcing the conclusions of our review into Nations News services, and confirming where we are able to invest more money in dedicated services.
As I have set out above, our first step will be to deliver the following initiatives:
12.10pm BST
Whittingdale said in his announcement that the BBC would be doing more to promote democracy by improving the coverage of local councils. The BBC has today set out more details of this initiative in this news release. Here is an extract.
The key initiatives are:
In addition to those key initiatives there will be a jointly commissioned independent audit to establish the usage of local press content by the BBC on its media platforms and vice versa. The outcome of the independent audit will inform a review of the BBC’s efforts to improve the linking and attribution of stories and sources.
12.03pm BST
And here is the full statement from the BBC responding to the white paper.
The BBC is backing many aspects of the proposals, but it has concerns about at least aspects of the document: the plan to make the NAO the BBC’s auditor, and the plans for the new board. Here is an extract from the BBC statement.
We have an honest disagreement with the Government on this. I do not believe that the appointments proposals for the new unitary board are yet right. We will continue to make the case to government. It is vital for the future of the BBC that its independence is fully preserved.
11.58am BST
This is what Tony Hall, the BBC’s director general, has said about the white paper this morning.
This white paper delivers a mandate for the strong, creative BBC the public believe in. A BBC that will be good for the creative industries - and most importantly of all, for Britain.
There has been a big debate about the future of the BBC. Searching questions have been asked about its role and its place in the UK. That’s right and healthy, and I welcome that debate.
11.58am BST
Here is the Department for Culture’s press release with a summary of its plans.
Here is the 136-page white paper (pdf).
11.53am BST
Whittingdale is responding to Eagle.
He says her complaints have been based on “ill-founded, hysterical speculation by leftwing luvvies and others”.
11.47am BST
Eagle is still speaking.
She says she is glad the plans for a contestability pot (allowing commercial broadcasters to bid for BBC money to make certain programmes) have been shrunk, and that that are going out to consultation. Is Whittingdale willing to drop them altogether?
11.43am BST
Maria Eagle, the shadow culture secretary, is responding to Whittingdale.
She says he briefed much of it out in advance. That is “deplorable”.
11.36am BST
Whittingdale says he would like to see BBC content become portable, so that viewers can watch it when they travel abroad.
11.35am BST
Whittingdale says the licence fee system needs to be updated.
11.34am BST
Whittingdale says the BBC needs to become more accountable to the public.
It gets nearly £4bn every year. People want it to spend its money more wisely.
11.31am BST
Whittingdale says the BBC will be expected to share its content more widely, and to open up its archive.
11.31am BST
Whittingdale says Ofcom will be given the power to see how the BBC’s output is impacting on commercial rivals.
He says the BBC will be expected to work with commercial partners.
11.30am BST
Rona Fairhead will remain as chair of the BBC Trust until her term ends in 2018, Whittingdale says.
11.28am BST
Whittingdale says the next BBC charter will last for 11 years.
But there will be a chance to review it half way through.
11.28am BST
Whittingdale says the BBC Trust is no longer fit for purpose.
The division of responsibilities between the trust and the board is not clear.
11.25am BST
Whittingdale says he wants the BBC to do more to serve black and minority ethnic communities.
And he wants it to serve the nations and regions of the UK better.
11.24am BST
John Whittingdale is delivering his statement now.
He says the BBC reaches 97% of the population every week.
11.14am BST
Chris Bryant, the shadow leader of the Commons, and a former shadow culture secretary, suggests that John Whittingdale cannot be trusted to take decisions about hte BBC when he is part of the Vote Leave campaign that is at war with broadcasters.
How can Whittingdale be an honest broker over broadcasting when he's part of a campaign that's at war with both ITV and BBC?
11.11am BST
And this is what Boris Johnson is saying about the Vote Leave/ITV row - that he doesn’t know anything about it.
Boris Johnson claims he hasn't read Vote Leave statement suggesting PM wont be in No 10 for long and threatening legal action against ITV
11.10am BST
Boris Johnson will claim that leaving the EU would create 284,000 jobs because the UK would be able to do trade deals with the US, Asian and South American countries. Speaking at a steel plant in Dorset, he will say EU figures show that trade deals with these countries would provide a huge boost to jobs.
These are deals that the EU has tried and failed to achieve due to protectionist forces in Europe.After we liberate ourselves from the shackles of Brussels we will be able to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs right across the UK.
Predictably the gloomsters want to do down Britain - they claim we are not a strong enough to stand on our own two feet. What total tosh. There is a huge world of opportunity and prosperity out there if we take this opportunity to take back control.
11.08am BST
This is from my colleague Jane Martinson, the Guardian’s head of media.
A tad longer than "To enrich people's lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain" then https://t.co/oPI39R9Z84
11.07am BST
This is from the Telegraph’s Patrick Foster.
This, I am told, is the BBC's new mission statement: pic.twitter.com/HFoWz2YCeA
11.03am BST
John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, should be on his feet within the next 10 minutes or so to give his statement on the white paper on the future of the BBC.
As the Guardian’s preview story reveals, he is going to propose abolishing the BBC Trust.
10.41am BST
And here is Robert Harris, the author and former political journalist, on the row.
Brexit seems less a political movement, more a Meldrew-like state of being in a permanent hump about everything, including one another
10.39am BST
Here is the Times’s Hugo Rifkind on the Vote Leave/ITV row.
Weirdest thing about ITV fuss: wouldn't Cameron actually prefer to debate Boris over Nigel? Farage knows his stuff. Boris is a roadcrash.
10.31am BST
Actually, we’re not getting the Whittingdale statement is not coming until about 11.15am. There is an urgent question first on the EU migrants statistics. (See 10.21am.)
10.23am BST
John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, is about to make his Commons statement on the white paper on the future of the BBC.
Here is the Guardian’s preview story.
Related: BBC to be forced to reveal pay of stars including Evans, Lineker and Norton
10.21am BST
Here is my colleague Alan Travis’s story on this morning’s ONS figures about EU migrants.
Related: ONS: short-term migration explains national insurance 'gap'
A claimed “missing million” of long-term EU immigrants to Britain has been proved a phantom army, according to a special analysis by the Office of National Statistics in the run-up to the EU referendum.
The ONS say short-term migration – EU citizens coming to Britain for less than a year and sometimes just a month – accounts for recent gaps between the official net migration figures for long-term immigrants to Britain and the number of national insurance numbers issued to EU nationals.
10.17am BST
Lord Grade, the former ITV chairman, has strongly criticised Vote Leave for threatening ITV. He said:
As a former chairman of both the BBC and ITV, I hold the political independence of all broadcasters to be of paramount importance to our democracy.
Today’s attempt by the referendum Leave campaign to threaten ITV with political repercussions over their TV debate plans is unacceptable, if not shocking.
10.14am BST
And ITV is rejecting Vote Leave’s claims that it “lied”. (See 9.06am.) This is from an ITV spokeswoman.
ITV has not lied to anyone, nor has there been any kind of ‘stitch up’.
Senior figures from the Vote Leave campaign have been invited to our debate on June 9 and have every opportunity to air their views and opinions on the issues in a two-hour long peak time programme on ITV.
10.11am BST
As my colleague Anushka Asthana reports, ITV is rejecting claims that is coverage has been biased towards Remain.
ITV hit back at claim of bias, saying they are scrupulously fair. Point out 3.5 mins of Boris on news at 10 last night, IDS iv night before
10.07am BST
There are at least seven EU referendum “debate” programmes planned by the major broadcasters. Here is the full list.
Thursday 19 May - A BBC programme aimed at young voters, broadcast from Glasgow and hosted by Victoria Derbyshire. Further details are not available yet.
9.37am BST
Vote Leave has issued a new statement about the ITV debates decision this morning. It says it is considering going to court to try to get it overturned. This is from a Vote Leave spokesman.
The government has set all the rules for the referendum to give itself every possible advantage. It has also demanded of the broadcasters that the prime minister should not have to debate representatives from the official Leave campaign.
ITV has accepted the prime minister’s demands without even discussing it with the official campaign and has allowed the prime minister to dictate his own opponent. Since the campaign began, ITV has also given twice as much airtime to the In campaign than to the Leave campaign.
9.31am BST
And Nigel Farage has criticised Vote Leave for trying to keep him out of the TV debates. A spokesman for Farage said:
Once again sadly we see Vote Leave seeking to exclude Nigel Farage and Ukip from this referendum campaign. It Is deeply disappointing that rather than rallying behind Nigel Farage for what will be the biggest one-on-one debate of the referendum campaign, Vote Leave are instead threatening court action to stop Nigel from taking on the prime minister.
Nigel Farage has a proven track-record in taking on and defeating the pro-EU establishment. Indeed without him and Ukip there wouldn’t even be a referendum, let alone debates.
9.25am BST
Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, used his Twitter feed last night to respond to the Vote Leave allegations.
This cannot be real. It must be a practical joke. Ha ha ha https://t.co/nfIWz4Cqk4
So, & I can hardly believe I need to say this, I never campaigned for the euro & ITV is wholly impartial in EU referendum debate
Apart from mad slur on me and ITV, did Gove and Boris approve threat at end that @David_Cameron will be out soon? pic.twitter.com/T3EtZA0eqP
9.06am BST
Late last night an extraordinary email arrived in journalists’ inboxes. It was sent out in response to the news from ITV that David Cameron and Nigel Farage would be taking part in what they call “a live EU referendum event”. The rest of us will probably end up calling it a debate, although technically it isn’t a debate, because Cameron and Farage will not be going head to head. The email came from the Vote Leave campaign and it included this quote, attributed to a “senior Vote Leave source”.
The establishment has tried everything from spending taxpayers money on pro-EU propaganda to funding the In campaign via Goldman Sachs. The polls have stayed fifty fifty. They’re now fixing the debates to shut out the official campaign.
ITV is led by people like Robert Peston who campaigned for Britain to join the euro. ITV has lied to us in private while secretly stitching up a deal with Cameron to stop Boris Johnson or Michael Gove debating the issues properly.
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