C5B And ITC Accused Of More Irregularities

A new twist has emerged in the hearing at the High Court over the award of the Channel 5 licence to Channel 5 Broadcasting. QC Sir Patrick Neil, representing failed bidder New Century, accused the ITC of not properly testing the business plan put forward by C5B.

This plan was crucial in originally awarding the licence, because it measures a company’s financial status and commitment to carrying out its programming plans. The new evidence, which New Century has waited till today to reveal, relates to the fact that the business plan put forward by C5B was not given a proper ‘sensitivity’ test. This involves measuring how realistic the plan is by imposing on it possible future events.

It is also claimed that the C5B plan, which increased the value of its financial backing from £206 million to £306 million, was not checked properly for its financial legitimacy. Indeed, Sir Patrick Neil even suggested that C5B did not have this amount of money. QC’s for C5B and the ITC deny this.

The hearing continues tomorrow.