Alex Salmond offers some insight into plans for media industry operating within an independent Scotland
Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond has offered some insight of his plans for the media industry within an independent Scotland, should his visions for the future come to fruition.
Speaking to Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight, Salmond was asked whether an independent Scotland would pay the BBC licence fee, to which he said that it would, but on the same basis as Ireland.
‘But they don’t pay’ retorted Paxman.
Salmond explained: “We shall pay the license fee in the same way as we contribute to pay for anything else that we choose to watch.”
He continued to say: ‘We’ll have a licence fee to set up a Scottish broadcasting channel and I’m quite certain we’ll be wanting to purchase from the BBC a range of series.”
Asked by Paxman whether he thought the BBC was a charity, he laughed before answering “I am sure that at the BBC, charity begins at home Jeremy.”
Salmond was interviewed ahead of outlining his referendum on independence for Scotland.