Speeches by Kumaran.

“Thank you all for your evidence today, especially Robi and Bassam: you have overcome such personal adversity, and you are using your voices for common good and for peace. It gives us real hope, so thank you. My question, which is for all of you, links with what you have just been speaking about. If you could make one r…”

“Thank you, Bassam, and thank you all.”

“Thank you all for your evidence today, especially Robi and Bassam: you have overcome such personal adversity, and you are using your voices for common good and for peace. It gives us real hope, so thank you. My question, which is for all of you, links with what you have just been speaking about. If you could make one r…”

“Thank you, Bassam, and thank you all.”

“9. What steps her Department has taken to support public trust in reliable sources of news and information.”

“9. What steps her Department has taken to support public trust in reliable sources of news and information.”

“As the Foreign Secretary said, today there are the first embers of hope after what has felt like perpetual agony for the people of Israel and Palestine. He mentioned that Gazans have been trapped in hell on earth, and it has been a living nightmare for the families of the hostages. I know that the Foreign Secretary and…”

“In the past few weeks, we have seen the spread of disinformation using online platforms and the proliferation of misinformation on an industrial scale. Attempts to destabilise the Government and throw off public discourse do not have Britain’s best interests at heart. I have been contacted by multiple constituents in S…”

“In the past few weeks, we have seen the spread of disinformation using online platforms and the proliferation of misinformation on an industrial scale. Attempts to destabilise the Government and throw off public discourse do not have Britain’s best interests at heart. I have been contacted by multiple constituents in S…”

“Just thinking about the services that we have already seen cut, we have heard today the value of hindsight, where some services have been lost and, once they are gone, they cannot come back. I am thinking of active situations at the moment, where people are reliant on BBC World Service and that impartial source of trus…”

“The school support staff negotiating body—to stick to the Bill—is an important part of the Bill and will help to ensure standardised fair pay and employment terms across the board, addressing not only local but regional disparities. School support staff make a massive contribution to the running of our schools. Just la…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and to my membership of GMB union. I note the comments that you have made, but if I may I will just respond to the shadow Minister, who talked about the previous Conservative Governmen…”

“Thank you. That was really clear. We know now that disinformation and misinformation are one of the biggest challenges ahead for us, especially with our national security. It is a demonstrable national security threat. Will future funding decisions for the BBC take this into account? This is new and perhaps not somethi…”

“Should the Government have that decision, knowing what we know now, especially about BBC Arabic? We asked them if the BBC made any assessment on the impact of closing these services, especially with misinformation and disinformation, and whether the Government were informed, and we were not given too clear an answer.”

“Thank you. I will go back to Baroness Chapman, if I may. You mentioned in your previous answer that it was a decision for the BBC to make some of these strategic operational decisions. Tim Davie, in his answer to us before this session, mentioned that some of this is a strategic discussion and decision for the UK. Ther…”

“Just thinking about the services that we have already seen cut, we have heard today the value of hindsight, where some services have been lost and, once they are gone, they cannot come back. I am thinking of active situations at the moment, where people are reliant on BBC World Service and that impartial source of trus…”

“In terms of the soft power aspect of this, we talked about the royal family. We have talked about sports. We have talked about lots of other exports. What alternative is there to BBC World Service in terms of a comparable soft power export?”

“Thank you, panel. My question is to Baroness Chapman. We have seen that, last year, the BBC cut BBC Arabic, Persian and Hindi radio services, among others. A stark example is where they cut the service in Lebanon. Russian-backed media took over and were broadcasting on the state frequency. We have heard Tim Davie talki…”

“I have one final question; thank you, both. It very much relates to Paul’s question on the impact of disinformation and misinformation. Did you make this assessment prior to shutting BBC Arabic? Notwithstanding the answer about the FCDO, were the Government informed in any way about the impact and these potential forei…”

“Sorry. My question was not on the competition. It was on whether there are any good practice examples that we can learn from other broadcasters on how to tackle misinformation and disinformation.”