We are committed to delivering the highest editorial and ethical standards in the provision of our content and services on all platforms both in the UK and around the world. Compliance with these guidelines are mandatory to help maintain this reputation.   

Any operational team placing material on a British Council site must take editorial responsibility for all forms of online content including text pages at every stage of their existence.    

Our commitment to accuracy is a core editorial value and fundamental to our reputation. Our output must be well-sourced, based on sound evidence, thoroughly tested and presented in clear language. We must be honest and open about what we don’t know and avoid unfounded speculation. If an issue is controversial, relevant opinions as well as facts may need to be considered.   

The British Council strives to be fair to all – fair to those who are the subjects of our content, fair to contributors, and fair to our audiences.   

We must not infringe privacy without good reason. In order to exercise our rights of freedom of expression and information, we must work within a framework that respects an individual’s privacy and treats him or her fairly.   

We balance our right to publish innovative and challenging content with our responsibility to protect the vulnerable.   

We aim to provide children with challenging, educative, enjoyable and interesting content to help them make sense of the world in which they live. But, at the same time, we must take all reasonable measures to safeguard the welfare of children and young people - both as contributors and consumers of content.

The principles relating to our non-political status are set out in the British Council’s Charter. The British Council is a non-political organisation.    

We have a special responsibility to UK and international audiences when hosting discussions on our websites at times of conflict. At such times some of our audiences may expect us to provide space online for a wide range of views and opinions which other audiences may find challenging. We will only do this in ways which make our positive intent to increase intercultural understanding explicit.   

Section 10: Religion   
We respect the fundamental human right to exercise freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This includes an individual’s freedom to worship, teach, practise and observe. At the same time, we recognise our duty to protect the vulnerable and avoid unjustified offence or likely harm.    

Our values are based on mutuality, professionalism, integrity, creativity and valuing people. We are committed to representing the full diversity of the United Kingdom in our work. Everything published on our websites must be consistent with these values.   

Our global reputation is based on its status as a non-political body working for mutuality. We must not undermine these values by any actions which could bring the British Council into disrepute.    

We seek to offer fair and appropriate credits on our websites. We normally give production credits, credits for the supply of material by third parties, credits for some outside events and credits for some software providers.   

We are committed to working collaboratively with others to deepen the impact of our activities and extend creative possibilities. Working in partnership is a crucial element of our approach. We only enter into such arrangements where our objectives are complementary with the objectives of our partners.   

Interactivity allows our audiences to engage with us in many different ways. It provides choice and gives opportunities to be heard, and to create content. We aim to offer it to everyone by using our different platforms in different ways, but we will not exclude visitors who do not choose to interact.   

British Council website authors must seek the advice of British Council lawyers whenever legal problems are encountered or suspected.   

We are accountable to our audiences. Their continuing trust in the British Council is a crucial part of our contract with them. We will act in good faith by dealing fairly and openly with them.