‘Public are sick of BBC bias and waste’ declares Sammy Wilson as he challenges media minister over licence fee

Sammy Wilson was speaking in Parliament today where the issue was discussed with media minister John Wittingdale.

The debate came almost a fortnight since the BBC announced its intention to scrap free licences for those aged 75-plus, meaning an extra three million households will be asked to start paying the £157.50 fee from August 1.

Only people in receipt of Pension Credit are exempt.

Mr Wilson said: “Does the minister understand many of my constituents are fed up with the begging-bowl behaviour of the BBC, which seems to thinkits pocket has no bottom to it, and increasingly frustrated by the political bias and the reckless spending?...

“Will he undertake, first, to ensure that no pensioner who can’t afford the compulsory levy will be criminalised as a result of non-payment, [and] in the longer run, will he look at how the BBC is funded so that we don’t have this compulsory tax on people who increasingly get their entertainment elsewhere anyway?”

Mr Whittingdale said he sympathised with Mr Wilson, but did not address his question of criminalisation.

He also said he should take complaints of bias to the BBC and regulator Ofcom.

The debate came a month after the BBC pledged £100m to “increase diversity” on TV, amid the Black Lives Matter protests.

A survey earlier this year by the Creative Diversity Network (a body which counts all UK broadcasters as members) found that ethnic minorities and gay people were hugely over-represented on UK television already.

The Times reported at the time that the survey found gay and bisexual people took up 11.9% of roles, and black and ethnic minority people accounted for 23% of on-screen roles – much higher than both groups’ shares of the general population (a share which varies somewhat depending on the source of data).

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