Letter: Europe is on to Murdoch

Sir: Although Polly Toynbee is to be applauded for turning a spotlight on the threat to British television ("Stop Murdoch now or regret it", 23 September), she is not fighting a lone battle.

The European Parliament last week voted by a significant majority for a comprehensive range of policies to defend public service broadcasters such as the BBC. Measures it approved, which were put forward in a report by the Labour MEP Carole Tongue, include keeping major sports events on free TV, obliging cable and satellite operators to carry public service programming and providing proper financial backing for the public service channels.

The reality, however, is that obsession with deregulation and liberalisation has blinkered policy-makers to the genuine public interest. Mesdames Tongue and Toynbee are rightly raising the alarm - but they are fighting philistines for whom the market is all that matters.

TONY ROBINSON

Brussels