BBC has urged British lawmakers to review ads for China approved by the Xi Jinping regime

EXCLUSIVE: A British lawmaker and member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China has urged the BBC to reconsider its commercial decision to produce ads for Chinese state media.

Lord David Alton has written to Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, demanding he review the activities of BBC StoryWorks’ commercial unit after Deadline revealed its links to China.

In an investigation published on Wednesday, we revealed that StoryWorks was working with at least 18 Chinese clients, including nine state-affiliated agencies, despite protests from BBC journalists.

StoryWorks produced a slick ad campaign for the China Global Television Network after it was banned from broadcasting in the UK. Xinhua, the state news agency, and Huawei, the controversial tech giant, were among StoryWorks’ other clients.

In a letter to Davie, Lord Alton said: “I am writing to ask you to review this agreement. It is difficult to see how it can be legal to provide revenue to a state which is credibly accused of genocide and crimes against humanity (not to mention the imprisonment of journalists and pro-democracy advocates).

The BBC has been contacted for comment. In an earlier statement to Deadline, the company defended StoryWorks’ relationship with the Chinese propaganda machine. It said StoryWorks is “completely separate” from its newsgathering activities and that contracts with state media do not prevent journalists from covering the country “without fear or favour”.

Lord Alton told Deadline: “It is simply unrealistic to think that trade relations with the Chinese Communist Party will not influence behaviour. I eat his bread, I sing his song. According to the BBC, contracts with Chinese state media do not prevent journalists from covering the country “without fear or favour”. Real? This is either alarming naivety or sleight of hand.”

Lord Alton was among a group of nine British lawmakers banned from entering China last year after criticizing Xi Jinping’s regime. Boris Johnson, then UK prime minister, said he played a role in “highlighting the gross human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims”.

The Crossbench colleague shared platforms with Uyghurs and helped give a voice to dissidents and activists who he said were “intimidated and bullied” by the Chinese government. He also oversaw Hong Kong’s last free elections and examined the fate of pre-democracy leaders.

Lord Alton is part of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China, an international group of lawmakers focused on relations with the communist superpower.