BBC World Service being supplanted by Russia and China because of funding cuts and poor management, warn MPs

The BBC World Service is in danger of being replaced on the global stage by Russian and Chinese propaganda outlets due to funding cuts and mismanagement, a parliamentary committee has warned.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a scathing report into the state of the World Service, warning that Britain’s soft power on the international stage is being compromised by “poor decision-making”.

While the service, which is jointly funded by the BBC license fee and the Foreign Office (FCDO) and available in 43 languages ​​worldwide, has an average weekly audience of 313 million viewers, MPs on the committee said there was a serious risk of losing ground to rivals, partly due to increased spending on international media by states such as Russia and China.

The two countries have invested a total of around £6bn to £8bn a year in global media operations, at a time when the World Service is experiencing spending cuts.

The committee also highlighted that the trust scores of Russian and Chinese state broadcasters have also “increased markedly” in recent years, while the BBC’s ratings have remained stable.

World Service’s total budget fell by 21 percent in real terms between 2021 and 2026. This decrease was mainly due to reductions in contributions from the license fee.

The report comes as the BBC prepares to negotiate with the government to renew its charter, including discussing the size of the license fee. At its last contract renewal in 2012, the BBC agreed to pay for the World Service.

MPs told the BBC they were “deeply distressed” when they learned they had not been told how much funding the government would provide for the World Service next year.

The company also failed to provide the committee with “a single, transparent value package for money measures across the service’s TV, radio and digital offerings.”

The report also said weaknesses in BBC management “led to poorly evidenced decisions and unclear lines of responsibility within the organisation”.

The company’s World Service’s digital upgrade management was found to have weaknesses that contributed to an 11% decline in overall digital audience since 2021.

MPs also raised concerns about the BBC’s failure to “clearly document the reasons for key decisions taken as part of its savings programmes”, as well as the lack of metrics to effectively monitor its performance and impact on audiences.

The BBC announced plans to create a new international management model in February 2025, but as of January this year only one of its six regional directors was in permanent post.

The PAC also concluded that the government should work to improve conditions for World Service journalists working in dangerous environments, including where staff and their families risk incarceration.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the PAC, said: “The Government must be alert to the realities of the BBC World Service’s declining audience.

“While making cuts, there is a risk of opening the door to the propaganda of enemy states, such as Russia, which fill the void it left behind and spend billions of lira in this field.

“At a time when geopolitical tensions are rising and media freedom is diminishing, the UK cannot afford to lose such an important tool of soft power.”

Sir Geoffrey described the World Service’s productions and training content as “astonishing and a jewel in the crown of the UK’s soft power efforts around the world”.

But he warned that its importance was “diminished by poor management and short-term financing decisions”.

The Tory committee chairman added: “My committee is calling on the government and the BBC to set out clearly the course of action for the World Service to ensure its audiences are not left behind.”

Sir Geoffrey warned that the government and the BBC should examine how the World Service’s impact could be increased, “rather than risk a gradual weakening of its reach each year”.

“And importantly, journalists working in increasingly dangerous environments deserve more than our praise – the UK Government must do all it can to improve the conditions in which they work and protect and restore media freedoms globally.” he added.

A BBC spokesman said: “We welcome the PAC report, which recognizes the importance of the BBC World Service as the most trusted provider of international news worldwide and the need for secure, long-term funding. We are therefore calling on the Government to restore full funding to the World Service as part of the BBC Charter Review.”

“We are making changes to strengthen how we demonstrate value for money and improve governance and documentation.

“We thank the committee for praising our staff working in difficult and dangerous conditions, and we will respond more comprehensively in line with their recommendations.”

FCDO Minister Chris Elmore said: “The World Service’s work as an independent and trusted broadcaster showcasing the UK, our culture and our values ​​around the world is highly appreciated by this government.

“Assistance Grant funding for the World Service for the next three years will be determined through the FCDO allocation process.

“FCDO’s final World Service general allocations will be made before the start of the 2026/27 financial year.”