Parliamentary TV rules "should be relaxed"

Rules governing what TV cameras may and may not film during debates in Parliament should be relaxed, according to a new report from the Hansard Society Commission on the Communication of Parliamentary Democracy.

The commission, chaired by Lord Puttnam, said the rules should be relaxed as part of an effort to make the workings of Parliament more accessible to the public.

"The rules of television coverage in the chambers should be relaxed to allow, for example, further reaction shots, appropriate use of close-ups, more panning shots of back benches and a wider range of options during divisions," the report argued. "It should be an explicit objective of parliamentary coverage not just to inform but to interest and engage the viewer."

The commission cited two occasions on which the BBC was reprimanded for its coverage: a slow-motion shot of purple powder being chucked at the Prime Minister and a wide-angle shot of pro-hunt protesters in the House of Commons were deemed to be in breach of Commons regulations.

The report added that more resources should be given to the BBC Parliament TV channel.