Government official accidentally reveals "sensitive" Channel 4 privatisation proposal

The government is putting the privatisation of Channel 4 firmly on the table, according to a document an official accidentally made visible to a photographer waiting outside Downing Street.

The paper, labelled "official - sensitive - commercial", was titled "Assessmet of Channel 4 Corporation reform options".

According to the photo, captured by photographer Steve Back, it said: "Work should proceed to examine the options for extracting greater public value for the Channel 4 Corporation (C4C), focusing on privatisation options in particular, whilst protecting its ability to deliver against its remit."

Back later posted the picture on Twitter.

Channel 4 is a public service broadcaster and not-for-profit organisation utimately owned by the government.

Its chairman Lord Burns has reportedly been considering a partial or complete sale to address its budget deficit.