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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Kiran Stacey and Michael Savage

Ministers demand BBC World Service plan for cuts as aid budget slashed

Headshots of United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy as he speaks to the press in front of a red, white and blue board.
Foreign secretary, David Lammy, is running a department battling for a limited pool of cash. Photograph: Omar Marques/Getty Images

David Lammy is asking BBC bosses to draw up tens of millions of pounds’ worth of cuts to the World Service as part of the spending review, as the fallout continues from Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the aid budget.

Sources have told the Guardian the Foreign Office has asked the BBC to draw up a budget of up to £70m a year lower than bosses say it needs over the next few years, and well below inflation.

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