The Culture Secretary has written to Rishi Sunak recommending the government drops its plans to privatise Channel 4, according to reports.
Michelle Donelan’s predecessor Nadine Dorries announced the decision to take the broadcaster out of public ownership during former PM Boris Johnson’s premiership.
When Ms Dorries announced the plans, she said it was so the broadcaster can better survive in a media landscape dominated by the likes of Netflix and Amazon.
She had said she was re-examining the “business case” to make sure “we still agree with that decision”.
But a leaked letter written by Ms Donelan to Mr Sunak, seen by The News Agents podcast on Wednesday, allegedly reveals the culture secretary looks set to scrap the policy.
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A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation.
“The DCMS secretary of state has been clear that we are looking again at the business case for the sale of Channel 4. We will announce more on our plans in due course.”
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Channel 4 was created in 1982 by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government and is entirely funded by advertising, out of public ownership. Everything it airs is commissioned from external production companies.
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New culture secretary speaks to Sky News
Former culture secretary Ms Dorries criticised the reported move, tweeting: “Three years of a progressive Tory government being washed down the drain. Levelling up, dumped. Social care reform, dumped. Keeping young and vulnerable people safe online, watered down.
“A bonfire of EU leg, not happening. Sale of C4 giving back £2b reversed. Replaced with what?
“A policy at some time in the future to teach maths for longer with teachers we don’t yet even have to do so. Where is the mandate – who voted for this?
“Will now be almost impossible to face the electorate at a GE and expect voters to believe or trust our manifesto commitments.”
But other Conservative MPs and members of the opposition parties have praised the apparent change of policy.
Former Tory minister Stephen Hammond said: “I have always thought that its commercial future can be more sustainably secured by a new mandate within the current model,” he posted on social media.
“This decision will ensure the independent UK production industry will continue to thrive and prosper.”
While fellow senior Conservative Simon Hoare added: “A welcome and excellent decision/recommendation by Michelle Donelan: If it ain’t broke; don’t fix it!”
Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said: “The Conservatives’ vendetta against Channel 4 was always wrong for Britain, growth in our creative economy, and a complete waste of everyone’s time.
“Our broadcasting and creative industries lead the world, yet this government has hamstrung them for the last year with the total distraction of Channel 4 privatisation.
“Labour opposed this sell off, and took a strong stand against it.
“The government must now bring forward the Media Bill to protect and promote Britain’s broadcasters in the streaming age.”
Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone added that the plans to sell off Channel 4 were “nothing more than a culture war waged by a rash and reckless cabinet”.
Social media star “Big John” Fisher has said he is being deported from Australia after he was detained over visa issues.
Fisher, known for reviewing fast food online, arrived in Australia on Tuesday for appearances in Perth and Sydney.
In posts on his Instagram, he said he was questioned by border officials for four hours in the city of Perth.
He said he was due to head home on Wednesday, his birthday, at 6.30pm local time.
“My visa was legal coming in but they are not happy with what I am doing here so they are sending me home,” he said. “To be truthful, I just want to go home now.
“When common sense goes out the window you lose a bit of hope with human beings.
“Well even though I am under lock and key it’s my birthday, I’m still smiling and I still love Australia.
“Just can’t wait to get home to my family and good old England.”
It is understood Fisher was travelling on an incorrect visa.
An Australian Border Force spokesperson said it did not comment on individual passengers.
Fisher, who has more than 680,000 followers on Instagram, went viral for his love of Chinese takeaway and is best known for his use of the catchphrase “bosh”.
He makes regular appearances at restaurants, clubs and major events around the world.
His son, British heavyweight boxer Johnny Fisher, wrote on Instagram: “The Aussies have detained Big John and are sending him home- rumour has it they are frightened of his express pace bowling ahead of the Ashes.”
They’re getting through 70kg of rice a day and the wholesaler has run out of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London on Wednesday.
It’s just the second time a Grand Tournament has been held outside of Japan – and this is a sport that has records going back more than 1,500 years.
It’s 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the only previous such event on foreign soil – and the appetite for tickets meant all five days sold out immediately.
Much of the focus is on the two grand champions or yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.
They’re the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, plus Japan’s Onosato Daiki – who this year became the quickest wrestler to achieve the rank in the modern era.
“I’m happy that Sumo is back after so many years,” Onosato said. “I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic Sumo is.”
“Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. “We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult.
“My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.”
The two are already great rivals.
Image: Onosato Daiki became the quickest ever to achieve yokozuna rank. Pic: AP
At the recent Aki Basho – the most prestigious tournament on the sumo calendar – the pair finished with identical records after 15 days of bouts.
It all came down to a final play-off between the two yokozuna – the first time that had happened in 16 years. It was Onosato who came out on top on that occasion.
Hoshoryu says he is a big fan of basketball and football. He follows Chelsea, although his favourite players are going back a bit: “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!”
Early starts and a hearty stew: The life of a rikishi
The wrestlers – or rikishi – have a rigorous training regime.
They live in communal blocks called stables and practice starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After training and practice – and for the younger rikishi, chores – the wrestlers all eat together.
The staple of their diet is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with meat and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who have come over for the five-day tournament is a challenge in itself.
Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: “We are going through 70 kilos of rice a day. Somebody told me that the wholesaler for the noodles has run out of noodles. We’re really pushing the system here.”
The ring – or dohyo – is just 4.55m in diameter and quite small when two giant wrestlers leap at each other.
The aim of the fights is to either get your opponent onto the floor – or, more spectacularly, shove or hurl them out of the dohyo, so spectators in the ringside seats may be getting extremely up-close to the wrestlers.
The last time the tournament was in Britain, the massive Konishiki, known as the Dump Truck, took centre stage.
The giant Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming in at 287kg – or 45 stone. That’s a lot of wrestler to dodge if he comes falling out of the ring towards you.
The Royal Albert Hall may be firstly a concert venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and even Muhammad Ali.
And for the next five days, the cream of the world of sumo will be thrilling the crowds – provided a new noodle supplier is found.
What is a yokozuna?
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, with its name meaning “horizontal rope” and refers to the rope worn around a competitor’s waist as they enter the ring.
Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.
He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.
The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.
A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.
“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”
The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.
The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.