London, 16 October 2024 (PA Media/dpa/MIA) – The BBC has revealed a raft of planned changes including the axing of in-depth interview show "HARDtalk" along with looking at reducing more than 100 news roles at the broadcaster.

The corporation has been under financial pressure amid rising inflation, and the previous two-year freeze on the licence fee, and has projected its total deficit will increase to £492 million ($643 million) for the 2024-25 financial year.

On Tuesday, the BBC said that "HARDtalk" – which runs Monday to Thursday – will shut in March 2025, after nearly three decades on air.

A BBC spokeswoman said "HARDtalk" “has done great work” but “some tough decisions” are being made due to the need for savings and how people watch news programming.

The long-running, hard-hitting interview show, fronted by journalists including Stephen Sackur, began in 1997.

Sackur wrote on X: “This is sad news for me personally, but much more important, I think it’s depressing news for the BBC and all who believe in the importance of independent, rigorous, deeply researched journalism.

“At a time when disinformation and media manipulation are poisoning public discourse, 'HARDtalk' is unique – a long-form interview show with only one mission, to hold to account those who all too often avoid accountability in their own countries.”

It has seen former president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" star Major Charles Ingram, late Venezuela leader Hugo Chavez, Russian foreign affairs minister Sergei Lavrov, and ex-president of the FIA Max Mosley grilled.

Sackur also said that he had been “enormously fortunate to pursue [his] journalism within the BBC,” and was looking at new opportunities for next year.

It follows "Newsnight" being reduced to a 30-minute programme, as part of cost-cutting measures, and around half of its 60 jobs going.

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) general secretary Michelle Stanistreet called it a “damaging assault on journalism and news at a time when the UK needs greater plurality and diversity of news, and trust in journalism is under attack at home and abroad.”

Chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness wrote an email to BBC staff saying: “I want to acknowledge that this is a tough day, when we are sharing some difficult decisions we have had to make to operate within our budgets.

“I’d like to make clear at the outset that anyone who is directly impacted by the proposals we are outlining today will already be aware, and we are doing all we can to support them.”

She said that as the BBC as a whole was set to reduce more than 500 roles, cut an additional £200 million on top of £500 million annual savings and reinvestment previously planned, then BBC News needed to be part of those measures.

Turness added that more than 40% of £24 million it planned to save from the BBC News budget would come from “non-staff measures including reductions to spend on contracts, suppliers, distribution and physical buildings.”

She also said: “I’m sorry to say that post closures are unavoidable. We propose to close 185 roles and open 55 new ones – a net reduction of 130 posts. As a result of the changes in news, media operations is also proposing to close the equivalent of 25 posts.”

There were also plans to combine production to save costs, along with focusing on continuous live and breaking output on its news channel.

Other changes proposed include moving production of the overnight programme on 5Live from news to the BBC’s Nations and Local teams, domestic radio taking World Service summaries overnight, and combing Radio 5 Live and Radio 2 news production.

“We will close the bespoke Asian Network News service and the station will instead take 'Newsbeat' bulletins and commission a new locally made current affairs show,” Turness said.

“Thank you for the professionalism and care for each other that I have no doubt you will show as we work through these difficult decisions.”

Stanistreet said: “Some of these decisions represent comparatively modest savings yet will disproportionately undermine the breadth and range of news content the BBC currently provides.”

Laura Davison, NUJ broadcasting organiser, called the plans “damaging,” and also said: “It is unclear how much journalism at the BBC can withstand without decisive action and investment that recognizes the immense benefit of independent, credible news and current affairs programming.”

Former head of BBC television news Roger Mosey called it “weirdly self-destructive” of the corporation, on X, while praising the staff at 'HARDtalk' as bringing “an intelligence to their interviewing which is lacking elsewhere.”

BBC Radio 4 "Today" programme presenter Mishal Husain, who has presented HARDtalk, wrote: “It’s been my privilege to see the dedication and focus of the outstanding Hardtalk team, led by [editor] Lisa Baxter, when I’ve worked with them.

“Thoughts with all affected by today’s announcements.”

A BBC spokeswoman said: “People are coming to our news channel for live and breaking news, while across the whole of BBC News we have hard-hitting long-form interviews and discussion on more platforms than ever, for instance via our global on-air editors and our debate and discussion programmes.

“We can no longer afford to run so many bespoke programme teams.”

Photo: MIA archive