United Kingdom government considering privatisation of Channel 4

The government has inadvertently provided further evidence that it is looking at privatising Channel 4, after an official was photographed entering Downing Street with a document setting out options for a sell-off.

Reports have suggested that the government could raise around £1 billion by privatitising Channel 4.

A photograph taken by Steve Back – a photographer known for capturing revealing and sensitive information carried by number 10 visitors – outside Downing Street showed an unidentified official carrying documents revealing the government’s plan.

A spokesperson for the Department for Culture Media and Sport today told the Independent it was considering various courses of action and did not deny that privatisation was on the table as an option. The leaked document suggests otherwise though and one Tory insider strengthened the rumours when he told The Guardian that “John Whittingdale is interested and wants to do it”.

The memo is dated 24 September 2015 and is addressed to two unnamed secretaries of State.

Channel 4 executives have been strongly opposed to privatisation options and the broadcaster’s chairman, Lord Burns, is has put forth his own options centred on Channel 4 continuing as a not-for-profit operation.

It’s emerged that the UK Government is considering the sale of Channel 4 as it looks to pay down the country’s debt.

Earlier this month in the Commons, Broadcasting Minister Ed Vaizey faced pressure from right-wing Tory MPs to justify the benefits of taxpayers owning a “left-wing broadcaster”.

Channel 4 commented that its “not-for-profit model enables it to deliver significant public value to viewers and the United Kingdom economy”.

The note then uses anacronyms which are thought to refer to Shareholder Executive (ShEx), which controls Government stakes in private sector companies, and the Cabinet Office (CO). Channel 4 itself believes it could have to substantially reduce its programming budget if it is privatised, threatening some of its less profitable output.