Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effect of the BBC World Service on tackling levels of state propaganda throughout the world.

Responsibility for Her Majesty's Government's relationship with the BBC World Service lies with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The BBC World Service supports the UK's role as a force for good, supporting press freedom by encouraging media plurality, and offering tailored language services with local broadcasters which helps to counter misinformation by providing impartial, editorially independent news. The Service helps the BBC's international mission to address the global gap in trusted international news, including where free speech is limited.