Plans to privatise Channel 4 have been formally abandoned, ending years of threats to the broadcaster that cost the government millions of pounds and were opposed by the vast majority of the media industry.
The culture secretary, Michelle Donelan, said Channel 4 was a “British success story and a linchpin of our booming creative industries” and therefore should not be sold. Instead, she is suggesting a relative modest series of tweaks to Channel 4’s remit, with the business continuing to be owned by the state.
