NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — All issues regarding the BBC documentary about a brutal gang rape in India must be solved between the BBC and the Indian government directly, with no involvement of UK authorities, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Thursday.
"Indian Ministry of External Affairs never approached British Foreign Ministry. BBC is an autonomous authority so we cannot approach them and we don't have the details about the controversy. It's between BBC and the Indian government to decide," Hammond told journalists.
Last week, the Indian government banned the BBC-produced documentary about the gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi in 2012. Indian authorities said that the film was part of international attempts to defame India.
In response, the BBC said that official permission had been given for filming, and the documentary does not violate any standards, adding that it was shot "in full compliance with the editorial guidelines."
So far, a court in India has refused to lift the ban, citing the documentary's "objectionable content." The chief justice in Delhi's high court is expected to hear the case next Wednesday.
