JOURNALISTS at the BBC World Service urged the government today to deliver a proper funding agreement amid reports of a real-terms budget freeze. 

It is understood that the government will halt funding to the World Service until a new agreement is made. 

On February 10, outgoing BBC director general Tim Davie said it would run out of funding in just seven weeks without a deal.

Most of the World Service’s £400 million annual budget comes from the licence fee, with about a third from direct government funding. 

In a statement, members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the World Service said the continued uncertainty over its future was “distressing” and “baffling.”

The NUJ World Service branch said: “Another deadly war in the Middle East has put the lives of tens of millions of people … at risk and has already had profound ramifications for the livelihoods of billions more across the world. 

“At such uncertain times, people all around the globe are desperate for accurate, reliable information. 

“The last thing journalists working tirelessly to serve their audiences across the world need is to worry about whether the organisation has the financial resources to keep going.”

It called on the government and the BBC to agree immediately, as well as a long-term funding settlement, to “stop it becoming the subject of drawn-out negotiations and a political football between BBC executives and the government of the day.”

NUJ general secretary Laura Davison said: “Members are worried that without a proper deal, more jobs will be put at risk, workload and stress will increase, news output will be cut, and the BBC’s reputation will be damaged. 

“The NUJ urges the BBC and the government to re-establish full funding and stop the annual cycle of uncertainty over its budget.”