Prime Minister Gordon Brown Supports Threatened BBC 6 Music

Having once claimed a penchant for Sheffield's chroniclers of modern life, Arctic Monkeys, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has declared his support for under-threat radio station 6 Music and that Jarvis Cocker is his favourite DJ.

Before the more cynical reader emits guffaws of hollow laughter, Brown -- currently on the campaign trail -- said he believed any plans for cuts at the BBC and, by extension the demise of 6 Music, were being put forward to please the Rupert Murdoch-endorsed Conservative government.

When asked if he supported the campaign to save 6 Music, Brown told the Radio Times, "Yes, because it's the next stage you worry about. The Conservatives have said that they'll hive off Radio 1. A lot of things that the BBC does are incredibly creative and quite risky -- and this is a necessary means of us being a creative society. I want to safeguard the independence of the BBC and I think the license fee is the means by which you do it."

He continued, "The license fee is essential to the BBC. Any proposal to massively cut the fee or to strip the BBC of its independence -- or alternatively, to remove its ability to make certain programmes -- is a huge mistake. I don't think politicians should make that decision about what the BBC produces. I think the BBC should make that decision. I also think, personally, that the BBC should not have succumbed to pressure to cut certain things -- but they have."

Offered a choice between Radio 1's Chris Moyles, Radio 2's Chris Evans and Jeremy Vine and 6 Music's Jarvis Cocker, the Prime Minister responded, "Definitely 6 Music. Definitely."

Neither the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats made statement about Brown's radio tastes, although the Tories' Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said last month he was a fan of the station, and Liberal Democrats Culture Spokesman Don Foster said he did not think the station should be made a sacrificial lamb, even if he did support cuts to the BBC.