BBC radio strikes: Radio Leeds breakfast show replaced with Lancashire programme as journalists stage walkout

Listeners tuning in expecting to hear regular Radio Leeds presenter Rima Ahmed on Thursday morning were instead greeted by Radio Lancashire presenter Graham Liver, who explained that normal programming was interrupted due to industrial action by members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in England. He said that his show was being broadcast on 11 other stations as far afield as Humberside, York, Cumbria, Merseyside and Solent, which serves Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.

The 48-hour walkout has hit programmes across the BBC, with the NUJ saying the first day of action on Wednesday had impacted 39 local radio stations, 11 regional TV news programmes and online services. It is part of an ongoing dispute about cuts to programming and jobs which will mean shared content replacing local output. The BBC says the changes are necessary so that it can focus more on local online content.

NUJ members in Leeds gathered outside the corporation’s office in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday, handing out leaflets and waving placards as passing motorists beeped their horns in a show of support. They were due to return on Thursday to stage a second picket.

Nick McGowan Lowe, a full-time official with the NUJ, joined them. He said: “Local news is absolutely essential to local communities, keeping them informed about what is happening around them and the proposals that the BBC have are going to are going to destroy that close relationship that they have with keeping communities informed.”

He said 5.7 million people depend on their local radio stations but the BBC’s plans will cut local programming on stations such as Radio Leeds down from 100 hours per week to just 48. He added: “Local news doesn’t exist if it’s not kept local, if it’s not keeping local communities informed.”

A cross-party group of 26 Yorkshire MPs, including Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn, have written to the BBC's director general, Tim Davie, to raise their "concerns" and urge management to reconsider the changes. Their open letter highlighted the “valuable public service of companionship” provided by local radio stations. It read: "We are deeply concerned that these plans are being put in place without any public consultation. This is Licence Fee money, something that just about every household has a stake in, yet no research has been presented about the possible effects of these changes."

Mr Davie was due to meet with a number of MPs from the region in Westminster on Wednesday afternoon to face questions about the proposals, which the BBC maintains are the best way to modernise its services.

A BBC spokesperson said: "All 39 BBC Local Radio stations including Radio York, Radio Sheffield, Radio Leeds, Radio Lincolnshire and Radio Humberside will continue to provide local programming throughout the week under these plans. We are passionate about serving local communities but local radio is just one of the ways we reach our audiences. We want to modernise our local services so that however licence fee payers choose to get their local information, we'll be there across radio, television and online for many years to come."