asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances instructions were issued by the Post Office to a private television relay contractor in Rothbury, Northumberland, to discontinue the relay provided on channel 5; and whether, in view of the fact that as a result of his decision BBC1 is no longer available to users of old single-standard 405-line sets in the Rothbury area, he will review it.
Interference affecting the reception of BBCI by viewers who rely on off-air reception in the Armstrong Cottages area of Rothbury has been caused by radiation from the distribution of this channel over a local broadcast relay operator's network. As the operator could not at once completely eliminate this radiation he was asked to stop distribution on channel 5 until he could. I am told that out of 450 subscribers to the system only three are affected by the action taken. If the hon. Member would like to let me know the names and addresses of any subscribers who have complained to him we will look into their problems further so as to see whether anything can be done to help them.