Labour funded 'biased' TV shows

Published on Sunday 3 August 2008 01:21

DOCUMENTARIES made with £2m of Government money were at the centre of a new row about spin last night.

The programmes are accused of taking a biased view of the effects of ministers' policies.

Ofcom, the media watchdog, has opened an investigation into Beat: Life On The Street, which is about the Government's controversial Police Community Support Officers and was funded with 800,000 from the Government, to see whether it breached its broadcasting code.

Media freedom campaigners, broadcasters and opposition politicians have reacted angrily.

Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow said: "I find it extraordinary. So the Government is funding commercial television productions highlighting Government policy? Presumably they don't criticise Government policy."

In total, eight documentaries have been funded by the Government. The PCSO documentary has proved particularly controversial because it deals with a policy that the Government has had to defend against claims that it is low-level policing done on the cheap.

Home Office officials were reportedly directly involved in the making of the programme, which carried no mention of Government involvement.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Documentaries of this nature play an important role in informing the public, openly and transparently, about the work of the police and the UK Border Agency.

"The Home Office do not influence the content of these programmes after they are commissioned and they adhere to Ofcom's guidance."