BBC World Service: Government to increase funding by £33m over next three years

The government will increase funding of the BBC World Service over the next three years, the foreign secretary is to announce on Thursday.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will boost funding by an additional £11m per year for the next three years – a total of £33m and an 8% increase on the previous year's government contribution.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the World Service "offers clarity, accuracy and an independent voice where reliable information is increasingly difficult to access".

The BBC welcomed the funding settlement, which it said "ensures it can deliver trusted, independent journalism to audiences around the world, and counter the rising tide of disinformation globally".

Earlier this month, a committee of MPs said they were "deeply troubled" by uncertainty over the government's future funding for the BBC service, with the current agreement set to run out at the end of March.