possibility.
The Voice of America were building a station in Botswana;
it was a good position from the BBC's point of view, and there was a
possibility that they might be able to share it. Mr Dennay said
there was a limit to what could be done from Lesotho, and it would
be a very expensive sitetto develop. Botswana would be better, but
marginally more expensive than the Seychelles. Mr Muggeridge
saddtthat the BBC would await a clearer picture on the Seychelles
from the FCO, if this was not encouraging they would pursue the idea
of sharing the Botswana-site with the VOA. Mr Ridley commented that
if the Seychelles Government were unhappy now, there was not much security for the future. Mr Bell recalled that the Seychelles
Government in previous discussions had wanted a lot of technical help
in return for permission to set up a relay. Mr MacInnes said that,
because of these uncertainties, the announcement to Parliament
would not refer specifically to Hong Kong or the Seychelles by name.
We would refer to possible relays covering FareEast and East Africa.
18. Mr Muggeridge asked for confirmation that the Government would
announce the plans in Parliament on 25 June. Mr Ridley said that
this would be by written answer to a Parliamentary Question.
Mr Gregson asked if the BBC would have an opportunity to see the
Parliamentary answer in draft. Mr Ridley assured him that this
would be done. Mr Muggeridge reiterated that the package would be
totally unacceptable to the BBC Board of Management, although he could
not yet speak for the Board of Governors. He would attempt to ensure
confidentiality, but the Minister should remember that the BBC was
composed of people who were trained to communicate. A lot of
livelihoods and jobs were at stake. Mr Gregson alleged there had
already been leaks from the FCO side; it had been difficult to hold
the position within the BBC this far. Mr Muggeridge repeated that
he wished to make it clear that he could not guarantee confidentiality.
The Minister was going to talk to the Parliamentary Media Committee,
9 CONFIDENTIAL
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