Tories declare war on the BBC
DAVID Cameron took aim at the BBC last night by appointing an avowed opponent of the licence fee to lead negotiations over its future.
Veteran Tory John Whittingdale became Culture Secretary in a surprise move which sent the BBC into a panic.
The corporation’s press office re-tweeted a social media post highlighting Mr Whittingdale’s opposition to gay marriage and support for foxhunting – which was quickly deleted.
A Tory source said Mr Whittingdale would ‘sort out’ the BBC when its charter renewal is negotiated next year. The minister has called the licence fee ‘unsustainable’ in the long run.
DAVID Cameron fired a broadside at the BBC yesterday by appointing a Thatcherite who believes the licence fee is ‘worse than a poll tax’ to lead negotiations over the corporation’s future.
In a surprise move, the Prime Minister appointed veteran Tory John Whittingdale as Culture Secretary, putting him in charge of thrashing out a new deal on the BBC’s charter next year.
One Tory source said Mr Whittingdale would ‘sort out the BBC’, whose election coverage and attitude during negotiations over the TV debates infuriated Mr Cameron. Another said the move was designed to ‘spook’ the corporation.
Mr Whittingdale, who served as Margaret Thatcher’s political secretary in government, is a media expert who has chaired the Commons culture, media and sport committee for a decade.
The 55-year-old is a long-time critic of the BBC, which he believes is too big and powerful. He has said the £145.50 licence fee is ‘unsustainable’ in the long run, and questions whether the corporation should compete against commercial rivals using taxpayers’ money.His appointment sparked panic at the corporation yesterday. In an extraordinary move, the BBC press office retweeted a message highlighting Mr Whittingdale’s opposition to gay marriage and support for foxhunting. The message was quickly deleted, and the corporation insisted it was ‘looking forward’ to working with the new Culture Secretary.
Mr Whittingdale’s appointment will fuel speculation that ministers are gearing up to cut the licence fee when the corporation’s charter comes up for renewal. The BBC could also be forced to curb its entertain- ment output and focus on public service broadcasting.
Ministers are furious with the BBC’s election coverage, accusing the corporation privately of pro-Labour bias. A Tory source claimed the corporation had run a string of uncritical reports about Labour policy announcements, while running wall-to-wall reports on Michael Fallon’s controversial claim that Ed Miliband would ‘stab the country in the back’. Mr Cameron is also said to have been enraged by the BBC’s attitude during protracted negotiations on the TV debates.
In February, Mr Whittingdale’s committee warned there was no long-term future for the licence fee, saying it was ‘becoming harder and harder to justify’. The current BBC charter runs until December 31, 2016. Negotiations on the charter, and the licence fee, are expected to begin in the coming months. Former BBC chairman Lord Grade said the corporation was in for ‘a rude awakening’ if it thought Mr Whittingdale would adopt a business-as-usual approach.
‘He knows the turf inside out,’ he said. ‘The BBC’s starting point is the status quo and a bit more money – if that is the starting point, they are in for a rude awakening.’
Mr Whittingdale has questioned the value of the licence fee, and raised concerns about whether nonpayment should remain a criminal offence. He has said: ‘Most people, almost everybody, accepts that the licence fee as it currently stands need some tweaking. People’s view- ing habits have changed and it needs to reflect that. You then have the question of whether or not it should remain a flat poll tax, collected through some fairly draconian measures, and whether it should still be criminally enforceable.’
He has said he is in favour of retaining the BBC as a public sector broadcaster, but questioned whether it should continue to chase ratings by making shows such as Strictly Come Dancing.
And Mr Whittingdale has said the corporation – hit by the Jimmy Savile scandal and a Newsnight investigation that led to the late Lord McAlpine being wrongly accused of child abuse – had ‘suf- fered from a succession of disasters of its own making’.
Mr Whittingdale was also critical of Lord Justice Leveson’s inquiry into press standards, accusing him of providing a platform for anyone who wanted to ‘kick the press’.
Steven Barnett, professor of communications at the University of Westminster, said the appointment could result in a ‘smaller BBC’. He added: ‘He is a known sceptic about the BBC in general and the licence fee in particular. I suspect that those who value the BBC and its unique cultural, democratic and economic contribution to the UK will have a fight on their hands.’
Comment – Page 14
‘They are in for a rude wakening’