A Commons campaign has been launched to save a Birmingham-based radio station from the axe.
Tom Watson (Lab West Bromwich East) is leading the fight to save the Asian Network, which is based in The Mailbox.
The BBC has announced it will close the station, alongside digital radio channel 6 Music, as part of an overhaul of services designed to end criticism of the broadcaster.
Commercial channels and some MPs have complained that the BBC is creating and empire of websites, digital radio stations and digital television channels which go far beyond what the public expects when they pay their licence fee.
It means that independent firms have no chance of setting up services - because they cannot compete with the subsidised BBC products, according to critics.
But Mr Watson said he believed the Asian Network was exactly the sort of service a public broadcaster should provide, because it was unlikely to be possible on a commercial basis.
And he accused the BBC of running scared of commercial rivals who wanted it to fail.
He said: “This is about saving jobs in Birmingham and ensuring the BBC provides a full service to every part of the community.
“I am asking the BBC to think again, and I have laid down a Commons motion saying so.
“This also provides an opportunity for MPs who value the Asian Network and want to see it continue to show their support by signing the motion.”
Conservatives have called for the BBC to slim down. When it was announced in February that the Asian Network and 6 Music were to close, Tory culture spokesman Ed Vaizey said: “We want a smaller BBC because it is doing down its commercial rivals.”
Representatives of the music industry have claimed that 6 Music has an important role providing airtime to up-and-coming bands, and have sent a letter of protest to Mark Thompson, the BBC’s Director-General.
