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Hands off our BBC


Back the broadcaster atacked from all sides, says NUJ broadcasting organiser, Paul Siegert


non-payment of his TV licence has to rule himself out of heading the corporation you realise you’re living in bizarre times. Charles Moore, the former editor of the Daily Telegraph, has now passed up the chance, apparently placed on a plate by the Prime Minister to become chair of the BBC


W Licence-evasion briefing: •


htps://www.nuj.org.uk/documents/nuj- response-to-the-dcms-consultation-on- decriminalising-tv/


Invite a local BBC rep to your branch meeting.


Follow the Hands Off campaign:


Info •


htps://www.nuj.org.uk/campaigns/ hands-of-our-bbc/


hen a man who says he doesn’t watch television and was fined for


board. Te Sunday Times revealed it was almost a done deal and that Paul Dacre, former editor of the Daily Mail, was favourite for chair of the broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom. For a government quite happy to


break international law, a flagrant flouting of the formal appointment processes seemed perfectly possible. Julian Knight, Conservative chair of the MPs’ culture and media commitee, said having a TV licence evader as chair was tantamount to a convicted fraudster running a bank. It was surely no coincidence that this championing of the two right-wing arch critics of the BBC came about the same time Tim Davie was about to take over as director general. Maybe it was a ruse to persuade him Baroness Morgan, earlier punted as chair, might not be that bad aſter all, despite likening the BBC to Blockbuster, the defunct video rental firm? Current chair David Clementi is to step down in February. Te briefing was a sign that


the gloves are back on again. Johnson’s government made no secret of its antipathy to the BBC: unnamed sources (Dominic Cummings) said it would be “whacked”, ministers boycoted


Radio 4’s Today and Whitehall consulted on decriminalising licence-fee evasion. Ten Covid-19 arrived and the PM had another fight on his hands – the BBC acquited itself as the model public service broadcaster, providing trusted news and a whole range of services. Now Kelvin Mackenzie, former Sun editor and supporter of the #DefundtheBBC movement says he should be chair (surely a wind-up) and would halve the licence fee, close stations and flog online to the commercial sector. Meanwhile, the NUJ has been in the throes of dealing with a huge redundancy programme. Hardest hit, the English regions, where 450 posts are to be cut. By the end of next year, the BBC will have made £800m in savings in just five years and will be landed with the bill for over-75s’ licence fees and the £125m extra costs caused by Covid-19. Te threat of having the non-payment of licences decriminalised remains at a possible loss of £200m. Te BBC will soon be celebrating its 100th birthday. We should be fighting for another century of a properly- funded broadcaster, free from shareholder pressure, advertiser influence and the chase for ratings – and a major driver of the nation’s £111bn creative sector. We must tell the government: Hands Off Our BBC.


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