Battle over TV licence could damage the BBC

THE Daily Express has consistently argued that free TV licences should be maintained for the over-75s. A television is a source of comfort for a group with a high degree of social isolation, which contains a high proportion of disabled people and which includes significant numbers in poverty.

As the clamour grows for the BBC to end its punitive plan, Age UK now argues that it could also be bad for the BBC itself. Backed by the National Pensioners Convention, the charity has reminded BBC chairman Sir David Clementi that it is a public service broadcaster which needs support from viewers, and that it is not constituted to make judgments that should be made by government.

It also reminds the BBC that it needs support from listeners and viewers in today’s bustling media landscape. Given all this, is it really too much to ask that the corporation allows the over-75s free licences? They are the BBC’s viewing bedrock and should be assisted, not alienated.