ALEX Salmond has been challenged to outline detailed plans for broadcasting in an independent Scotland, a year after he claimed viewers were being "short-changed".
Labour's shadow Scottish secretary, Margaret Curran, accused the First Minister of "playing fast and loose" with the BBC, which faces being broken up if Scotland becomes independent.
She called on Mr Salmond to say whether Scots viewers would continue to receive all the same BBC programmes for free in the event of a Yes vote next year.
She spoke out a year after Mr Salmond used a speech at the Edinburgh International Television Festival to promise a national broadcaster based on BBC Scotland.
He said viewers were being "short changed" by a lack of Scots-produced shows under the present set-up.
But Ms Curran said: "Alex Salmond is playing fast and loose with the BBC.
"A year ago he said he would break up the BBC and set up a Scottish Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), but since then he's said absolutely nothing about how he would do it, and what it would mean for TV viewers across Scotland.
"Alex Salmond can't be trusted on the BBC and hasn't answered some of the most basic questions over the past year. Will Scottish TV viewers be able to get all the content they currently enjoy, for free? Has he discussed any of his plans with the BBC? And will the SBC have the same global network that we currently have access to from the BBC."
Last year Mr Salmond said his party would "establish a national public service broadcaster based on the existing staff and assets of BBC Scotland".
He added at the time that further details on how that broadcaster would operate and its continuing relationship with the BBC would be published "next year". But Ms Curran said that Mr Salmond had "not provided any certainty" for the hundreds of people employed by the BBC in Scotland.
A spokesman for Scottish Government Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "Scotland contributes around £320 million in licence fees, but by 2016 spending for BBC Scotland output for Scotland will fall to under £86m.
"With independence we will protect public service broadcasting, ensuring that Scotland's public service broadcaster serves the best interests of the people of Scotland, and is impartial in its view and independent of government, and that viewers have access to more home-grown content as well as continuing to enjoy programming they enjoy today."
The Scottish Government said detailed proposals for broadcasting would be set out in its independence White Paper, due in the autumn.
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