Licence fee critic in line to oversee BBC
BORIS JOHNSON is considering appointing a long-term critic of the BBC licence fee as his new Culture Secretary, The Mail on Sunday has learnt.
Tory grandee John Whittingdale is the frontrunner to replace Nicky Morgan, who stood down before the Election, in the Culture department, which oversees the BBC, internet and the arts.
The Prime Minister is expected to conduct a mini-reshuffle of his Cabinet tomorrow morning, with a comeback for Mr Whittingdale under discussion last night.
Mr Whittingdale, a former chairman of the powerful Culture, Media and Sport Committee, did not respond to requests for comment from the MoS, but Downing Street insiders did not dispute he is in the running to lead the department, a role he held between 2015 and 2017.
Mr Johnson put the BBC on notice during the Election campaign by suggesting that if he won, his Government would ‘look at’ abolishing the £154.50a-year TV licence.
Under David Cameron, Mr Whittingdale launched a review of the licence fee and warned that the BBC must reform in the face of competition from streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon. ‘The BBC needs to adapt to a different world,’ he said.
‘Does it still need to do all that it does when there is so much choice out there? You could have some sort of public service payment through general taxation or a much smaller licence fee to cover news, children’s TV etc.’
Mr Whittingdale was sacked by Theresa May after backing Brexit in the 2016 referendum but has been a vocal supporter of Mr Johnson’s premiership from the backbenches.
Last night, No10 sources scotched rumours that the post of Culture Secretary could go to former Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt or Mr Johnson’s leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, who has also previously done the job. A source stressed the need for ‘both competence and loyalty’ from the next Culture Secretary, adding that ‘its not an either or situation’.