BBC row erupts: Ex-DG should not be part of funding review, say critics
QUESTION marks have been raised how a former Director General of the BBC who pushed for an increase in the licence fee can play an impartial role on an inquiry over its future funding.
In a letter to the committee chairwoman Baroness Stowell, Rebecca Ryan, campaign director of Defund the BBC, warned that Lord Hall cannot be impartial on the issue.
She said: “While I welcome the nature of the inquiry I have very serious reservations about the members who will be sitting in judgement.
“It is beyond belief that the committee would allow Lord Hall to participate in this inquiry. Having the former Director-General of the BBC on the committee means that the inquiry simply cannot be impartial.”
She went on: “Lord Hall has very publicly argued for the permanent continuation of the Licence Fee, saying it ‘will still matter and will still be phenomenally important'.
“Indeed, he has suggested options that would expand the burden of the Licence Fee, including calling for the Licence Fee to be turned into a levy on every household rather than the current ‘voluntary’ payment.
“Contrary to popular opinion, he has also claimed that the Licence Fee ‘has never been more necessary'.
“This is completely out of step with the mood of the country. Most polls are now clearly suggesting that the Licence Fee is deeply unpopular, one recent poll suggested that almost two-thirds of the population believe the Fee should be scrapped.”
A recent Redfield and Wilton poll for the Sunday Express revealed that 63 percent supported scrapping the licence fee. Half would back the broadcaster being funded by a subscription or advertising with just 18 percent wanting the continuation of the licence fee.
The survey of 1,700 people showed that just 15 percent of people polled wanted the BBC funded out of Government tax revenue.
Fifty-four percent of respondents disagreed that BBC services were worth the licence fee, with only three out of 10 people (29 percent) agreeing.
Ms Ryan added: “Lord Hall should recuse himself from the inquiry to ensure that the impartiality of the inquiry is assured. It cannot be justified to have a member of the inquiry on this topic to have held such a privileged role in the BBC nor to have made such public support for the Licence Fee.”
However, the committee looks set to reject the demand.
A House of Lords spokesman said: “Members of select committees come from a wide range of backgrounds and experience and any relevant interests are openly and publicly declared.
“In this case the cross-party and non-partisan committee is conducting an inquiry with a completely open mind and is actively seeking the widest range of opinions to contribute to and inform its thinking.”
The Sunday Express attempted to contact Lord Hall through the House of Lords but received no response.