Dorothy Byrne makes a compelling case for keeping Channel 4 in the public sector and exposes the government’s case for privatisation as the ill-informed, dogmatic and spiteful exercise it undoubtedly is (The sell-off of Channel 4 won’t benefit anyone but Boris Johnson, 5 April).
There is, however, a more cynical explanation for selling off the broadcaster at this time. Boris Johnson’s government faces an election within the next two years. Channel 4 News has provided some of the most robust scrutiny of government policy throughout its existence. This is something Johnson cannot tolerate. He has no doubt seen how Victor Orbán has, through media manipulation, constitutional trashing and restricting protest, steered Hungary towards a democracy in name only. This is the sort of position that our wannabe “world king” covets, and he has been prepared to play the same hand in order to achieve it.
Ian Fraser
Newtown, Powys
