Jowell Declares Britain Is Open For Business

Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, has defended the Government’s decision to allow non-European companies to invest in the UK media sector, announcing that “Britain is open for businesses.”

Speaking at the Westminster Media Forum earlier today, Jowell said that the proposal to abolish the rules preventing the non-European ownership of some British broadcasting assets (see

She said that foreign investors should be encouraged to see Britain as a place where their businesses can thrive, and insisted that the draft Communications Bill would help to establish the necessary regulatory and economic framework to make this possible.

Jowell told industry figures that the deregulation of the ownership rules would not threaten the quality of British broadcasting and emphasised that the Government will make sure that Ofcom’s powers are used to protect programming content.

She said: “The industry will benefit from more money to fund better quality programming that will retain its UK character.”

The proposal has been broadly welcomed by the industry and Stephen Carter, managing director and CEO of NTL said: “We applaud the proposed law changes with regard to foreign investment. They signal a change in mood that is long overdue.”

Earlier this the month the chief executive of US-owned Clear Channel Worldwide, the world’s biggest radio group, admitted that, if regulation allowed, he would like to take over one of the UK major commercial radio groups (see

Westminster Media Forum: 020 7233 0472

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