John Whittingdale, shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, said although it welcomes the creation of Ofcom, he does not feel its powers over the BBC go far enough.
"We remain firmly of the view that the BBC should be subject to full external scrutiny from Ofcom. It is indefensible that the biggest and most powerful of broadcasters should be allowed to continue to act as judge and jury on complaints about its behaviour and we will be tabling amendments to make the BBC subject to the same regulatory requirements as other broadcasters," he said.
The BBC's regulation has long been a thorny issue, with its commercial rivals and the advertising industry believing strongly that it should come under the same levels of scrutiny from an independent regulator as the rest of the industry.
The BBC, under the leadership of chairman Gavyn Davies, has fought for its independence, pledging to ensure that it remains answerable to its own board of governors.
What the communications bill does bring into place is the possibility that the BBC will be forced to pay fines if Ofcom deems it has broken taste and decency rules. The move brings the BBC in line with commercial broadcasters and could see fines of up to £250,000 for serious breaches of programme guidelines. The new rules were adopted by culture secretary Tessa Jowell and the parliamentary committee, but have been opposed by the BBC.
At the time of the decision, Jowell said: "This makes it absolutely clear that there's no question of the BBC somehow being subject to lesser standards of regulation than the other public service broadcasters."
Shadow trade and industry secretary Tim Yeo said he believed that Ofcom must concentrate on relaxing media ownership legislation.
According to Yeo: "It is vital that Ofcom focuses on increasing competition, including the removal of outdated media ownership rules. Both consumers and the British economy must benefit fully from the continued success of these vital industries. We will work with the communications and media industries in examining the bill closely to ensure it meets these objectives."
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