Licence fee ‘kick in the teeth’ for pensioners

Sir, – I was bitterly disappointed by the announcement that the BBC are going to proceed with their plans to take away free TV licences from most people over the age of 75.

This is a kick in the teeth for older people during a terrible year.

Last year I, alongside 634,333 other Age UK supporters, signed a petition to keep TV free for all over 75s.

I never received a reply from government.

I cannot believe that we are still being threatened with this possibility.

Shame on you, BBC, and the present government.

Don’t you realise the impact this will have on so many seniors’ lives.

Lockdown was hard and without a TV a lot of us would have found it difficult to cope.

And now winter is fast approaching you are threatening us again.

I appeal to you on behalf of so many of my friends who do not use

media spin and blame.

Computer models can be brilliant and pretty accurate when the correct parameters are included and validated in various environments.

This is hard to achieve with this new virus.

So, yes, Covid models are best estimates but difficult to evaluate.

Let us not conflate science and religion as both are open to misinterpretation and abuse. Meanwhile let’s celebrate the fact that at last proper investment in science has offered the internet to think again.

I have never before been given a freebie for it to be demanded back.

It is not the British way. I am really worried about older people on low incomes who will find it hard to find £150 plus a year to pay for a licence.

They will have to give up some other essentials, or try to survive without TV at all.

I am particularly concerned about older people battling

us hope in terms of a vaccine from the Oxford group.

Politics won’t get us out of this, science will whether you are a “believer” or not.

Prof Howard Davies. Station Road, Invergowrie. loneliness and isolation, people who aren’t online and for whom the television provides a lifeline to the outside world, information, entertainment and companionship.

I implore you to work together and find a solution to save millions of older people from this decision which will cause enormous anxiety, distress and real hardship.

Jessie Denst. Riverside Park, Blairgowrie.

to the private banking system that has – as always – been creating money from thin air to lend to the government at interest.

Further money will also have to be borrowed during the economic and social recovery following Covid, and that will also come from private banks.

It is this ludicrous situation, where private banks create the public money supply as interest-bearing debt, that cripples us with interest charges on their magic money that never