Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 4:08 pm on 12 November 2025.
Baroness Keeley
Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office), Chair, Communications and Digital Committee, Chair, Communications and Digital Committee
4:08,
12 November 2025
My Lords, I think it is now broadly accepted that the BBC made a serious error in broadcasting the edited clip on “Panorama”, and that it did not act swiftly enough to issue an apology. But it is deeply concerning to hear today from respected BBC journalists Kirsty Lang and Misha Glenny that they are firmly convinced that the BBC is under an unprecedented level of political pressure that threatens its future existence. They rightly say that allowing the BBC to fail would be disastrous for our democracy and Britain’s reputation around the world.
Will my noble friend the Minister work with the Secretary of State to address these deep concerns about political pressures? Will we do whatever we can to improve the governance of the BBC? Will those of us who support the BBC as our most trusted news brand be vocal, as we are mainly in today’s Statement, in our support for our national broadcaster, particularly as it now has to fill those two difficult leadership roles and prepare to go forward to the charter review?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
