‘Absolute disgrace’ BBC implementing cuts at Radio Foyle to save ‘measly’ £420,000: Eastwood

The Foyle MP raised the proposed cutbacks during a debate on the future of BBC local radio in the British House of Commons this afternoon.

"There was an announcement last week about my local radio station, Radio Foyle, and we won't even get morning programming.

“There won't be a local voice on Radio Foyle in the north west of Northern Ireland until one o'clock in the afternoon.

“They are stripping away the Breakfast Programme. They are getting rid of over half of the news staff to save £420,000,” blasted the SDLP leader.

Mr. Eastwood claimed the proposed cuts at the BBC in the north were falling disproportionately in the north west. He told MPs he believed they would ‘destroy’ the Derry radio station.

“BBC NI's budget is £55m. So what they are going to do in effect is destroy a local radio station, against what their own charter says about providing local people with access to local news, all to save four hundred and twenty measly thousand pounds when we have a massive overspend, we have a massive number of staff in Belfast, a massive building, two massive buildings, and the axe is falling on the local community in the north west of Northern Ireland,” said Mr. Eastwood, describing the proposals as an ‘absolute disgrace’.

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Mike Penning, a former British soldier who formerly served as Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), responded: “Knowing the province like I do, once in uniform and back there as the Minister for State, I know how important the local radio stations are.

"The interesting thing is I don't think the BBC really know what they want to do. What is their ethos? Where are they going? For instance, in my part of the world they are going to cut the afternoon local radio. In [Mr. Eastwood’s] they are going to cut the morning radio. I would argue that both are very important.”

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