Defence budget can fund World Service's anti-disinformation work, say BBC chiefs

BBC bosses are lobbying to use the defence budget to help pay for the World Service, arguing that aspects of the radio network should qualify as vital for national security.

- Kiran Stacey Michael Savage

Senior executives at the corporation are in talks with officials over whether parts of the service, such as media monitoring and anti-disinformation, should count towards Britain's security, as they attempt to avoid cuts that could reach tens of millions of pounds.

The Guardian revealed in May that the government had asked the BBC to produce budget plans up to £70m lower than what the service believes it needs, partly as a consequence of Keir Starmer's decision to slash the foreign aid budget.

Jonathan Munro, the head of the World Service, told an event at Labour conference last week he was looking to "spread the burden" of spending across Whitehall. "There are quite difficult rules about what counts as defence spending, but things that count as stability and conflict spending are now also built into that space," he said.

Those close to the talks say the BBC is specifically asking for money from the defence budget, which has been increased in order to meet the prime minister's promise of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027.