The Government courtesy of the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell presented the nation with its White Paper for continuing the BBC's Royal Charter for the next ten years today in the House of Commons. To somehow increase accountability the Board of Governors will be moved to a Trust. She described this process as part of cementing a "triple lock" on the BBC. Perhaps this might be called Bye Bye Culture aka BBC. The triple lock appears to refer to the new structure as submitting to the Secretary of State for Culture with written service licences for each part of the BBC accountable to the Trust who is accountable to the licence fee payer but in reality is accountable to the Government. Scrambled eggs by any other name is called an omelette. This is the "triple lock:" the Government; the BBC Trust and each part of the BBC subject to a written service licence. That will certainly kill off any creativity and "fun." Innovation will fall by the wayside as it is straightjacketed by someone's writing a service licence for each part of the BBC. The description of intent is full of bland platitudes which are contradicted by suffocating strictures. It's all over for a free, innovative, creative and, most especially, entertaining BBC. News broadcasting will wither on the vine because that is done elsewhere and not entertainment. BBC News Tuesday, 14 March 2006, 17:12 GMT"Entertainment 'key' to BBC future: The BBC must make entertainment a top priority, the government has said - but should not merely chase ratings or copy successful shows on other channels. Tessa Jowell outlined proposals for the corporation's future" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4804044.stmHere's what I said about the BBC this morning in an Email about the anticipated White Paper: ---------- Forwarded Message ----------Subject: BBC Governance & the Licence FeeDate: Tuesday 14 March 2006 08:19From: Gary D Chance To: breakfasttv@bbc.co.uk, news24@bbc.co.uk, newswatch@bbc.co.ukWith a moronic Government in power what can anyone expect other than a moronic BBC?I think that you really have to realise that the BBC is engaged in dumbing down creep.Andrew Gilligan was reviewing the papers last night on BBC News24. I was delighted to see him resurface again after the Dr David Kelly debacle on Radio4's Today.Remember that? That's when the BBC collapsed and shamed this nation by not backing up the truth. This is just one example in a long downhill slide into nonsense.If the BBC allows seven years and seven months of torture by means of surveillance technology to go on 24/7 in its own backyard without reporting it to bring it to an end, one can safely conclude that the BBC has lost the plot altogether and should retire from the stage as a media entity.Yes, content comes from elsewhere, and the ever increasing licence fee cannot be justified.Just look at the cost of spending two days with wall-to-wall coverage of a whale including the extensive use of the helicopter.How many hours are dedicated to watching criminals being transported to and from jail/courtroom while the presenter repeats the same thing over and over to fill the time in transit?Meanwhile, l am being tortured with totally invasive surveillance technology 24/7 including this writing, and the BBC is in such a state of denial and incompetent fear that it refuses to report torture in this country that has been going on for all these years with the expressly stated objective ofkilling a human being .What are you going to do when this finally breaks into the public awareness after all these years? Follow the transit vans to and from jail/prison/court with the helicopter while providing inane commentary?There's room for improvement, don't you think? Instead, dumbing down creep is ever increasing picking up speed while the BBC tries to match this Government in moronic behaviour out of fear.The end of the monolithic broadcaster is approaching. Just think of the jobs that will be created in the breakup of the BBC by eliminating this huge pyramid structure which is fast losing its ability to function in the 21st century.I think I'll start a radio broadcast on the Internet from the torture chamber in North Kensington and answer people's questions online 24/7 about the torture which goes on 24/7.The BBC can have a free feed just like everyone else. How can you compete with that?*****End of Email*****And then after Tessa Jowell spoke in the House of Commons: ---------- Forwarded Message ----------Subject: Triple Lock Say Tessa Jowell Then Talks About ContentDate: Tuesday 14 March 2006 16:44From: Gary D Chance To: news24@bbc.co.ukBlah, blah, blah platitude and nonsense.Then the triple lock trust control. She said it. That's it: "triple lock."The BBC has had it. The Government control freaks have been unleashed.Freedom? Innovation? Creativity? Public Service? Buzz words all.Who will appoint the Trust Governors or whoever?The Tories have got it right: licence fees will pay for digital conversion, and the Secretary of State will regulate the BBC instead of Ofcom [Office of Communication]. *****End of Email*****The Government seeks to control the news by stealth after the Andrew Gilligan report on BBC's Radio 4 Today programme which turned out to be accurate. However, this whole process went through the Dr David Kelly's suicide and the Hutton Inquiry with its distorted conclusions before the fact that there were no WMD in Iraq became a solid fact. The Government "sexed up" intelligence reports to send this country to war by invading Iraq. This has turned out to be worse than a catastrophe. The code word in the White Paper for the BBC is in the interest of the licence fee payer. Who is going to determine what the licence fee payer wants? Certainly not an independent regulator who would step in to adjudicate differences if and when they arose. Nope. It is not Ofcom or any independent body although Ofcom will have a restraining role with regard to the BBC and commercial interests. You can just hear the locks snapping in place. It's the Government via the Secretary of State who will control through the Trust which will replace the current Board of Governors by means of written service licences individually tailored for each part of the BBC. More accountable to its audiences means more accountable to the Government who seeks to control the news. That's why the emphasis is on entertainment. So long BBC News and news programming. It is fascinating to note at this time that there was just a decision by the Prime Minister to exonerate Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell of a conflict of interest with regard to her husband, David Mills, and his receipt of funds which were used to pay off a mortgage about which she professed ignorance. There was a great outcry that the Prime Minister had a vested interest in his decision and that this matter should have been referred to an independent panel on standards in public life which does not exist despite recommendations made for this panel three years ago. The Prime Minister has refused to create such a panel then and now. The BBC is not subject to an independent regulatory body and is ultimately accountable to the licence fee payer which should be read as the Government who is represented at the present time by Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture. The Prime Minister cultivates loyalty from and control of ministers in such a manner which is then carried out down the chain of command so he can pull the strings. Where is the accountability and responsibility? Lost in a fog. No wonder there is a lack of trust in Government and politicians. In this context consider the following Email also sent today: ---------- Forwarded Message ----------Subject: Sir Ian Blair Records a Few Phone Calls v Years of Surveillance TortureDate: Tuesday 14 March 2006 08:43From: Gary D Chance To: yourlondon@bbc.co.uk, breakfasttv@bbc.co.uk, news24@bbc.co.ukHorror of horrors. The Met Police Commissioner tape recorded a few telephone calls, and the media go berserk. Look at all the coverage and comment.At the same time I've been subjected to surveillance torture 24/7 for seven years and seven months involving scores if not hundreds of people without a mention in the media about this most extraordinary abuse of power.On the scale of problems and real threat to privacy and human rights in this country my experience is right at the top while recording a few phone calls by the top policeman is not that significant in the overall scheme of such abuse.Why is it that the BBC and media in general just do not address the most serious of problems which potentially impact the lives of every person in this country in the most devastating way and instead focus all that time and resources on such a small problem?What was that about rearranging the deck chairs? Is this an example of risk free reporting?Could it be that the lemming-like BBC and media in general are clueless and completely ignorant about the reality of this world and don't want to know anything significant?