Labour announces plans for windfall tax on tech giants

Jeremy Corbyn wants to see firms including Amazon, Facebook and Google fund a 'digital licence fee' as part of a radical reform of the media.

The plans have been backed by Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson, who accused giant tech firms of 'undermining public interest journalism while avoiding paying taxes'.

The West Bromwich East MP and shadow culture secretary vowed that a Labour government would not allow 'a small handful of unaccountable tech billionaire owners' to dominate the UK's media market.

"These tech companies... not only are they not paying their taxes, not only are they undermining journalism, but it seems that they are almost unaccountable to our democratic institutions," Mr Watson said.

"This is Jeremy Corbyn saying we are not going to have a few billionaires dictate the media market of Britain in the decades ahead.

"We need to change that. We need rigorous public interest journalism, and if the tech companies don't play their part in that then we'll make sure that they do."

Announcing Labour's plans, Mr Corbyn called for greater investment in investigative, public interest journalism, with a 'public interest media fund' paid for either through a content sharing and advertising revenue agreement with Google.

Alternatively, a Labour government would explore a one-off tax on the profits of tech giants, he said.

Mr Corbyn also claimed journalists were being 'held back' by media tycoons and, in the case of the BBC, by excessive state influence.

He suggested a series of proposals for the broadcaster, including publishing the social class of 'all creators of BBC content, whether in-house or external'.

An independent body would be responsible for deciding the licence fee, Mr Corbyn added, while the new digital top-up to the licence fee from tech giants could help reduce the fee for poorer households.

The Conservatives said Labour's proposals would hit consumers in the pocket.