Speeches by Waugh.

“Is he wrong?”

“By implication, are you talking about GB News? Obviously, like me, you would be a strong supporter of freedom of speech and of the freedom of media and the press. But at the same time, if you switch on GB News at night, it is basically a newspaper-on-TV format which, under the Ofcom rules, it is not meant to be, is it?”

“We will come on to the BBC in a minute. The key reason I am asking you this question is because we need a managed transition to IPTV; that is important. Ofcom made it absolutely clear that a later decision on IPTV risks undermining the investment and innovation needed for that transition. Where does that leave it? Your…”

“Can you offer any more reassurance for the industry?”

“You mentioned the BBC charter. Before we get into that, in a nicely robust session with the BBC yesterday, the Committee managed to extract from the BBC chairman this quote: “Once the Green Paper is out in early October”. Has he let the cat out of the bag?”

“The Permanent Secretary referenced the controversy over David Kogan’s appointment earlier; do you have any clues as to the timing of the outcome of the Shawcross review into that?”

“I declare an interest as a member of the Dale Trust, which is the Rochdale football supporters’ club, and I am a season ticket holder at Rochdale. Secretary of State, you mentioned that philanthropists play a big role in lots of our towns, particularly outside London. In Rochdale, Sir Peter Ogden is one of those Rochda…”

“That is not quite right, Minister, because Chris Bryant was constantly present in the Chamber. If you wanted to express more opposition, he could have made it clear, could he not?”

“He was not aware of it either, but he said that actually now he has heard about it first-hand he really wants to deal with it.”

“It is great that we finally have an industrial strategy and that those two words are no longer dirty words within Government, and that creative industries are obviously part of that. Earlier, you mentioned that public service broadcasters are a key part of the ecosystem for jobs, skills and investment. Ofcom’s report i…”

“Is there a sense of urgency on the part of Government?”

“Has he let the cat out of the bag? Is it early October?”

“This summer we have had Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday in real financial and ownership difficulties. Do you think that if the Independent Football Regulator had existed prior to that, that those difficulties might not have existed?”

“You were obviously not involved, but does the Permanent Secretary have any clue as to the timing?”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, or so we are told—so it seems particularly wicked that Israel can deliberately target the country that is doing more to promote peace than any other in the region. Is the tragedy of the middle east not that the Palestinians in Gaza and the Israelis in Israel are governed by deeply unpopular…”

“Have you asked for that?”

“We need to know the scale of this problem and whether it still exists.”

“Why not?”

“Can you tell us how many you have got?”

“There is serious risk to the individual journalists out in Israel who are being killed. That is for sure.”