Sir David Attenborough signs public statement by British Broadcasting Challenge

Sir David Attenborough, CH, OM, FRS, a world-renowned public service broadcaster and naturalist, voted most trusted man in Britain, has now joined the British Broadcasting Challenge‘s call for a broad public debate over the future of the public service broadcasting ecosystem he has helped to create. In an open letter to The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Attenborough along with other signatories – including former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers and the author Sir Salman Rushdie – warn that the government could damage the reputation of a major British asset. They say: “In a post-Brexit, post-Covid world order, the soft power of our public broadcasters is a significant national asset, both politically through the BBC World Service and economically.”

The open letter was organised by the British Broadcasting Challenge, a campaign group that seeks to protect Public Service Broadcasting and begin an open debate about its contribution to the UK and how it can be improved. The group counts among its prominent members, CAMRI media professors Jean Seaton and Steven Barnett, along with CAMRI Doctoral Researcher Christopher Day.