Hague v BBC World Service

A couple of sharp points from Foreign Secretary William Hague in the Commons, in response to the World Service cuts.  He noted additional contributions from Government (£13m p.a. for three years) to help WS with their missed contributions to the pension deficit; an additional £10m p.a. for three years to kick start some sort of tv services in Urdu, Hindi and for sub-Saharan Africa; and an agreement to cover capital costs for the move to Broadcasting House in 2012.  He claimed the BBC's first response to the reduced funding was to close 13 language services, rather than the five he's accepted.