SIR,—It is impossible not to sympathise with your Yugoslav correspondent's
criticism of the BBC. Bashing the BBC has always been popular and fre- quently justified. All the same, your correspondent's strictures and your editorial comment should have been addressed to Whitehall, and not to the Corpora- tion which manages the external broadcasting ser-. vices for the Government.
This basic point was also overlooked in Mr. Peter Wiles's 'investigation' of the BBC Russian Service some months ago, but it is really the root of the matter. Public money pays for the external services; their terms of reference (including the languages used) are specified to a considerable degree by the Government, and if the Yugoslav Service is being kind to Tito 'Z. Marn' can safely assume that this is what is wanted in Carlton House Terrace.
Any investigation such as suggested in your columns would be worthless if it were again to ignore the control exercised by the FO over the BBC's European Services. The working arrangements which. make this control possible are ill-defined and . un- known to the public. It is therefore impossible to assess the degree of independence, if any, which the BBC enjoys in this sector. The taxpayer should be giVen a chance to know how, and by whom, his money is being spent. If more were known about the links between the Foreign Office and Bush House, criticisms, such as .those put forward repeatedly by the Spectator, could be addressed to more appro- priate quarters.—Yours faithfully,
0. PICK ilelstone, Upper Warren Avenue. MaPied admin. Reading
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