MINISTERS SET TO AXE TV LICENCE JAIL THREAT

As poll reveals fury over BBC...

DODGING the TV licence fee could be decriminalised next month.

Whitehall sources said the need to reform the BBC had been reinforced by the Proms row and its move to bill over-75s for licences.

An exclusive Daily Mail poll today reveals growing public discontent with the broadcaster. Two thirds of voters want the £157.50 television charge scrapped and 59 per cent believe the BBC was wrong over the rule Britannia singing row.

Ministers are expected to make a final decision next month on whether non-payment should no longer be a criminal offence. Any change would be introduced in 2022.

The proposal will be fiercely resisted by the corporation, which says it could lose £1billion over five years.

But today’s poll reveals overwhelming support for the idea, with just 18 per cent believing non-payers should

face a criminal record. A source warned that the BBC ‘have not helped themselves’, adding: ‘It was made very clear that they would be expected to honour the agreement to fund free TV licences, but they chose not to.

‘And the recent misjudgements over the Proms just strengthen the feeling that they are badly out of touch with the public they are supposed to serve.

‘Will that help them head off decriminalisation? You can draw your own conclusions but it is hard to see why they should continue to be treated as a special case.’ The poll’s findings include: 59 per cent say they back Boris Johnson’s criticism of the BBC for ‘cringing with embarrassment over our history’;

Three in ten say they watch no BBC TV and 57 per cent say they never listen to its radio stations;

30 per cent think the BBC is Left-wing compared with only 19 per cent who believe that it is Right-wing;

More than half think the corporation is too politically correct;

A similar number say the BBC ‘does not reflect’ their values.

During last year’s election Boris Johnson suggested the licence fee could be axed. He said: ‘How long can you justify a system whereby everybody who has a TV has to pay to fund a particular set of TV and radio channels?’

But, with the licence fee regime due to run until 2027, ministers have now set their sights on decriminalisation.

A formal government consultation on the issue was launched in February and received well over 100,000 responses. Every household with a TV set must buy a licence, regardless of whether or not they use BBC services.

Failure to pay can lead to court action leading to a fine of up to £1,000. Those who fail to pay can face jail in extreme cases. In 2018, more than 121,000 people were convicted and sentenced for licence fee evasion and issued with fines averaging £176.

Decriminalisation would not make payment voluntary. Instead it would become a civil offence similar to non-payment of utility bills or parking fines.

Tom Hunt, Tory MP for Ipswich, said the corporation had lost the trust of the public. He added: ‘They are chipping away at what makes our country what it is. People

are sick of it. A year ago, wanting to scrap the licence fee was a minority pursuit but that is changing very fast. The situation is unsustainable. Decriminalisation is a good start.’

Peter Bone, a fellow Tory MP supporting backbench legislation on the issue, said: ‘The BBC shot themselves in both feet over Last Night of the Proms. Yet again they showed contempt for the values of ordinary people.’

In its response to the consultation, the corporation said decriminalisation would ‘ inevitably require significant cuts’ to programmes and services. It said the existing system, which raises £3.69billion a year, was ‘fair, effective and good value for money’.

It said a government review of the system in 2015 found that decriminalisation would make collection of the licence fee less efficient.

JL Partners interviewed a total of 1,012 adults online for the Mail’s poll on Thursday.