Politicians prepare BBC licence fee attack
Sunday, 2 November 2008 12:00 AM
Politicians are turning their attention to the BBC's licence fee following another week of disastrous headlines for the corporation.
The scandal over failed editorial controls which resulted in lewd and inappropriate comments by comedians Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand being broadcast on BBC Radio 2 has provoked the reported reassessment.
And a freedom of information request by the News of the World newspaper, revealing over 50 executives earn more than the prime minister, has fuelled the story.
The government has openly criticised the BBC and is now warning it may pay the price for damaged public confidence in it.
A source close to culture secretary Andy Burnham told the Sunday Times newspaper: "Andy is by instinct a friend of the BBC and would not dream of undermining its operational independence.
"But if it is going to make a case for the licence fee, the BBC needs to show a certain sensitivity and an awareness of where the public are.
"He believes it will be harder to argue the BBC's corner unless it is seen to be tackling the salary culture."
According to the News of the World, 50 BBC executives earn more than Gordon Brown's £189,994. Director-general Mark Thompson earns £816,000 a year.
If ministers decide the BBC needs to be curtailed it may decide to redistribute portions of the licence fee to other broadcasters.
A Conservative government, according to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, would seek to curtail excessive public spending and implement an immediate £6 drop in the annual £139.50 fee.
It quoted a senior party official pledging the Tories would "watch the BBC like hawks" and rein in its "overweening ambitions".
Mr Thompson insisted on BBC1's Andrew Marr programme he had spoken to a shadow cabinet member who insisted the newspaper's claims were not Tory policy.
Seeking to defend himself and the BBC, Mr Thompson said "duties of creativity" had to be balanced against "the business of not offending the public".
And he hinted that the corporation would be seeking to pay less for its big-name stars following the three-month suspension of Ross, who has a three-year contract with the BBC worth £18 million.
"I think we are heading towards a period where it is probably the case that we will be able to secure the best entertainment talent for less than we have been able to do in the last few years," he said.
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