Patten warns of impact of BBC cuts


Chris Patten, the new chairman of the BBC Trust, the organisation that oversees spending at the British public broadcaster, has signalled the importance of the World Service and hinted that the BBC might axe one of its digital television channels in the face of cuts.


Patten said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph that the BBC would “not be the same” after the cuts, which will see the BBC cut 20% over the next few years, and that BBC 3 or BBC 4 could be cut. The BBC Trust, however, later denied this. “We have to try to make sure that the BBC is regarded as more efficient than is the case today,” Patten added.