23,000 escape TV licence fee fines

ALMOST 23,000 of the people charged with dodging the BBC licence fee last year were never convicted, figures show.

More than 3,500 a week faced prosecution for failing to pay the charge – more than a tenth of all cases to come before magistrates.

But official figures have revealed that more than one in ten cases in England and Wales ended without a conviction, putting defendants through stress and wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money.

Last night the Government was facing fresh calls to decriminalise failure to pay the £145.50 annual fee. Convictions fail either because the BBC drops the case or because defendants are found not guilty. But Tory MP Bill Cash said both outcomes were a waste public money. ‘If 23,000 people get off, that’s 23,000 cases that should not have been brought, but have cost the BBC in administrative terms,’ he added.

Most of those found guilty are fined and receive a criminal record. But failure to pay the penalty can lead to prison and last year 39 people were jailed for an average of 20 days each.

Critics had hoped failure to pay would be decriminalised after the Government commissioned a report into whether prison was an appropriate punishment. But it said it was ‘crystal clear’ the current system works.

The latest figures, released by the Ministry of Justice, also revealed that youngsters are much more likely to face prosecution. More than 67,500 under 30s were charged last year, more than 9,000 of whom walked away without a guilty charge.

By contrast, just 4,078 over 60s were prosecuted – 623 of whom were let off. It suggests many younger viewers are running into trouble because they use catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer.

Watching shows after they have been broadcast is free, but the fee must be paid to see live content. However, it can be difficult to prove who has used which method.

A spokesman for BBC licensing said: ‘ We are able catch people watching on any device.’ A Ministry of Justice spokesman said it wanted to keep the amount of court time dedicated to TV licence dodging ‘to a minimum’ and said the Government will ‘consider carefully’ the case for decriminalisation.