Outrageous licence

After a difficult few weeks during and since the general election, the beleaguered BBC is striking back. In this newspaper, Lord Hall, the director general, disputed allegations of political bias and insisted that the Corporation’s news output remains trusted.

The BBC is undoubtedly respected by millions but the media world is changing rapidly and the method of funding the Corporation through a licence fee will not be sustainable in the long run. In particular, the criminalisation of thousands of teenagers who never use the BBC, for failing to pay the fee is outrageous. More widely, these penalties disproportionately affect women, the poor and the vulnerable. Boris Johnson has indicated his intention to confront this issue. He will have a monumental fight on his hands to see it through.