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A Select Committee looking into the BBC’s commercial operations said today it is "highly critical" of its controversial purchase of travel publisher Lonely Planet.
The committee of MPs said the broadcaster had been "less than forthcoming" about the Lonely Planet deal and called for the BBC to "rein in" its commercial operations.
However, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee is not calling for the forced sale of the publisher as this might lead to "substantial loss" to the licence fee payer.
It recommended that the chief executive of BBC Worldwide should no longer serve on the BBC executive board. It argued that his presence gives Worldwide a "significant" and "unfair" advantage over competitors.
The committee also found that the BBC failed to meet disclosure requirements, which the Stock Exchange would need from any quoted company in its acquisition of Lonely Planet.
The official report published today stated: "To say, therefore, that the BBC has been less than forthcoming, in a timely fashion, about the Lonely Planet deal is an understatement. Limited companies, whether publicly listed or private, are obliged to follow accounting standards regarding information about acquisitions in their accounts."
The committee also recommended that the £50m threshold at which a commercial transaction is referred to the BBC Trust is too high. It wants to see it lowered to £30m.