BBC India: Director-general tells staff to report without fear

The BBC volition not beryllium enactment disconnected from reporting without fearfulness oregon favour, its Director-General Tim Davie has said successful an email to unit successful India.

It follows searches astatine BBC offices successful Delhi and Mumbai by taxation officials.

Mr Davie thanked unit for their courageousness and said thing was much important than reporting impartially.

India's authorities called it "hostile propaganda" and attempted to artifact it being aired domestically.

Mr Davie said the BBC would assistance unit bash their jobs efficaciously and safely.

"Nothing is much important than our quality to study without fearfulness oregon favour," helium said successful the email.

"Our work to our audiences astir the satellite is to prosecute the facts done autarkic and impartial journalism, and to nutrient and administer the precise champion originative content. We won't beryllium enactment disconnected from that task.

"I'd similar to beryllium clear: the BBC does not person an docket - we are driven by purpose. And our archetypal nationalist intent is to supply impartial quality and accusation to assistance radical recognize and prosecute with the satellite astir them."

Tax officials spent 3 days carrying retired what they called a "survey" astatine the BBC offices.

India's Central Board of Direct Taxes said it had recovered "discrepancies and inconsistencies" arsenic good arsenic grounds indicating "that taxation has not been paid connected definite remittances which person not been disclosed arsenic income successful India by the overseas entities of the group".

Earlier this week absorption MPs successful the UK described the raids arsenic "intimidation" and profoundly worrying.

A Foreign Office curate would not remark connected the allegations by India's income taxation section but said "we proceed to travel the substance closely".