Pensioners must not lose free TV licence, says Sir David, 92

SIR David Attenborough has spoken out against the BBC’s proposal to scrap free TV licences for over-75s.

Entering the debate, the veteran BBC presenter said: ‘One has to remember that there are old people who aren’t earning anything.

‘I’m lucky I’m still at it. I’m 92, I’ve been going for 20 years. I wouldn’t [claim a free one]. I have earned very well, thank you very much.’

Free licences for the over-75s are currently paid for by the Government but responsibility for the scheme will pass to the BBC in June 2020.

It is expected to cost the BBC £745million by 2021-2022, rising to £1billion a year within a decade.

The £745million, around a fifth of the BBC’s budget, is equivalent to all of its spending on BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, CBBC and CBeebies.

Sir David also said he would like to try to convince ‘blind’ Donald Trump that climate change is a real threat.

Asked what he would say during a hypothetical face-to-face meeting with the President, he said: ‘I have no idea as to whether I could convince him, but it would be cowardly not to take up the challenge, would it not?

‘I would certainly take it up and I would think carefully about what I actually said. There’s so many bits of evidence I would use. But I mean what you say to him in the face of what is visibly happening, the climate of the United States of America, it’s perfectly clear. There are none so blind as those who will not see.’

Sir David also insisted he is ‘still a BBC man’ – despite teaming up with streaming service Netflix for a new eight-part series Our Planet, which he says carries an ‘urgent message’ about how the natural world is in ‘crisis’.

He said: ‘The BBC, powerful though it is and pervasive as it is, can’t reach 200million overnight simultaneously, nor can it continue showing those programmes for the next six months.

‘For this particular project, and this particular ambition, being able to reach the vast majority of TV sets in the world overnight is very important.’

But he insisted: ‘I am a BBC man. I joined the BBC in 1952 and I’ve worked for them constantly ever since.’

Our Planet is available on Netflix from April 5.