Tories lose faith in BBC

THE BBC should be owned by TV licence fee-payers, according to veteran Conservative MP Billwiggin.

Under his proposals the Beeb would not report to “anyone other than the public”, treating the viewing public like shareholders.

His proposal comes as a survey of 3,045 Tory Party members and supporters reveals 93.7 per cent want the licence fee abolished, while 96.2 per cent believe the BBC is biased against the party and right-wing commentators.

The row comes after the corporation was forced to apologise when Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis broke impartiality rules while covering a lockdown trip by Boris Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings.

The BBC has also been criticised for giving air time to “experts” but failing to mention that they are Labour members and supporters.

Under Mr Wiggin’s proposals, licence fee-payers would decide how the broadcaster is funded in the future. He said: “They may not wish to pay the licence fee any more but it seems to be very fair that we should, as licence feepayers, decide that.”

Mr Wiggin envisages the BBC’S news services hived off and funded by the Government, with a requirement they be “as neutral and as unbiased as possible”.

He insists his proposals are not about privatising the BBC – currently an autonomous corporation under Royal Charter – but making it accountable to the people who watch its programmes. The North Herefordshire MP wants to see an end to the rule requiring anyone who watches live television to have a licence fee – even if they never watch the BBC.

He said: “I think the compulsion element of it is very difficult to justify and I know that a lot of people now don’t want free-to-air television because they pay for their digital service.

“Therefore, they no longer feel that they need the BBC and if it wasn’t compulsory they probably wouldn’t pay for it.” Culture minister John Whittingdale said: “The licence fee is part of a funding settlement agreed with the BBC.

“The Government has committed to maintain the model for the duration of this charter period, until the end of 2027.

“However, we will undertake a detailed look at the future of the TV licence model itself.

“TV Licensing has said it appreciates the challenges many people face at the moment and it is working on providing further support.”