In a meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, outside the G20 foreign ministers' meeting, UK foreign secretary James Cleverly brought up action against the top public service broadcaster by Indian authorities, further escalating the BBC tax "survey" issue. Jaishankar "firmly" instructed Cleverly, according to Indian sources, that any organisation doing business in India must adhere to all applicable rules and laws.
Last week, during a House of Commons discussion on the subject, the UK government defended the BBC by asserting that it stood up for the broadcaster's editorial independence and that it had brought the matter up with the Indian government.
“The conversations I had with him (Jaishankar) are best to keep with him. I did raise it (the BBC issue),” Cleverly told media after his meeting with the Indian minister. “One of the advantages of having such a strong and professional relationship with Jaishankar is I am able to bring up, and indeed he brings up with me, some of these sensitive issues,” Cleverly added.
In the bilateral, the two sides looked to bolster ties in defence & security, trade and investment. The two leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The move came after the BBC aired a documentary on the Gujarat riots in 2002 that included accusations against PM Narendra Modi in his capacity as the state's chief minister at the time. Income-tax authorities described the activity as surveys rather than raids. On the day of the BBC office raids, UK officials had stated that they were closely watching the situation.
Government sources here said they had earlier too conveyed to UK that BBC had to comply with local laws. UK opposition though sees the “raids’’ as retaliatory.