The BBC’s appointment of Chair Richard Sharp “should not stand” and the process was “fatally flawed,” according to former Director General John Birt, who threw his weight behind the corporation over the Gary Lineker scandal.
18.03.2023 - 01:57 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The BBC licence fee is set to increase by £13 next year, prompting angry Tory MPs to call on the Government to cancel the rise. The fee is due to go up in line with inflation in April 2024 after a two-year freeze.
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) this week forecast that the inflation figure used would be 8.2pc. This means the BBC licence fee will rise from £159 to £172 – the biggest increase in more than 20 years, Leicestershire Live reports.
However, there is pressure on Government ministers to intervene and cancel the inflation-linked increase. Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP who as culture secretary signed off the freeze until 2024, called for no further increases in the licence fee until changes to BBC funding are considered.
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The licence fee figures have emerged in the wake of the row over BBC impartiality sparked by football presenter Gary Lineker's tweets. Some Conservative MPs have demanded that the fee be scrapped altogether.
A Culture Department spokesman told the Telegraph: “We agreed to a fair settlement with the BBC that will see the licence fee remain at £159 until 2024 to protect licence fee payers from current inflationary pressures, and then rise in line with inflation until the end of 2027. The exact level of inflation is yet to be confirmed.
“The BBC's funding model faces major challenges due to changes in the way people consume media. This is why we are working with it to look at ways to ensure it is sustainable in the long-term.”
On Tuesday, a culture minister claimed the BBC licence fee is losing support among the public. Conservative frontbencher Julia Lopez also noted that the corporation’s
The BBC’s appointment of Chair Richard Sharp “should not stand” and the process was “fatally flawed,” according to former Director General John Birt, who threw his weight behind the corporation over the Gary Lineker scandal.
Last week saw reports emerge that the BBC may be increasing its licence fee, with the broadcaster already under fire over the handling of the Gary Lineker tweet situation.
Gary Lineker will return to our TV screens later following a row which left the BBC's sport coverage in disarray. The former England international had to 'step back' from off his Match of the Day presenting duties after taking to social media to hit out at Government plans to stop small boats making the journey to Britain.
UPDATE: BBC employees will stage their biggest strike in 13 years on Wednesday after eleventh-hour talks with management failed. The walkout will force coverage of the UK government’s Budget off air and heap more embarrassment on Director-General Tim Davie, who has apologized for scheduling chaos over the Gary Lineker saga.
EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has scrambled to avoid further disruption to its schedules after a walkout over Gary Lineker’s suspension canceled Premier League output.
Fiona Bruce is stepping back from her role as a Refuge charity ambassador following claims she trivialised domestic violence on Thursday's edition of BBC's Question Time (March 9).
The UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has found his meeting with French premier Emmanuel Macron this weekend totally overshadowed in the British media. On Saturday evening, Sunak’s office released a statement from the PM, saying:
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken out after Gary Lineker was dropped from his role on Match of the Day. The row broke out earlier this week after the former England striker took to social media to hit out at Government plans to stop small boats making the journey to Britain.
Piers Morgan has blasted the BBC's decision to pull Gary Lineker off Match of The Day. The corporation said the presenter's criticism of the government's Migration Bill was a "breach of our guidelines". The sports pundit will now be stepping back from his presenting duties until a "clear position" on his social media use is agreed upon.
READ MORE: BBC’s Lineker MOTD crisis live as stars mutiny in support and show to air with no presenterWayne added: "I'm gonna go with 'no comment on this one guys. "One angry fan wrote: "Ah Wayne, thought you were better than this. Be grateful you live comfortably and will never have to make a journey like this.
The BBC has apologised after it was forced to pull several sports programmes following a boycott by presenters and pundits in support of Gary Lineker.The broadcaster said it would air only “limited sport programming” over the weekend and was “working hard to resolve the situation”. It comes after Lineker was told to step back from hosting the Saturday edition of the football highlights programme in a row over impartiality.
The BBC has issued an update after its sporting schedule was thrown into disarray this weekend. Presenters, commentators, and pundits, pulled out of various shows in solidarity with Gary Lineker 'stepping away' from Match of the Day in a row over impartiality.
Football Focus and Final Score have been axed from today's BBC schedule as presenters are continuing to pull out in solidarity with Gary Lineker. BBC Radio 5 Live Sport has also suffered as contributors refused to go on the air.
More than 10 of the BBC’s highest-profile sports stars have staged an unprecedented walkout over the British broadcaster’s decision to suspend Gary Lineker. Below is a list of those who have walked out, with links to tweets explaining their reasons for joining the protest.
The BBC’s Premier League output is in freefall as mutinous presenters and pundits stage a protest over the suspension of Gary Lineker.
The row over the BBC's handling of the Gary Lineker tweet controversy rumbles on. He's 'stepped back' from Match of the Day following posts deemed to have broken broadcaster's impartiality rules. The former footballer has been overwhelmed with support from fellow BBC employees and celebrity pals.
The BBC’s weekend football TV schedule is collapsing like a cricket side, with its regular late Saturday afternoon show Football Focus – which usually highlights the day’s Premier League matches – having to be pulled, after a list of high-profile names announced today they were boycotting the show.
Fatboy Slim has thrown his support behind Gary Lineker after the footballer turned pundit was asked to “step back” from his presenting duties at the BBC.Earlier this week, Home Secretary Suella Braverman outlined the government’s controversial plan to ban people arriving in the UK illegally from ever claiming asylum.Lineker responded, calling it an “immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”. Braverman then hit out at Lineker, saying that his comments “diminished the unspeakable tragedy” of the Holocaust.There is no huge influx.
The BBC comms department must be reeling this morning after a nightmare 48 hours which saw it firefighting battles on several fronts.
The BBC’s popular Premier League highlights show Match of the Day will air without a studio presenter or its regular roster of pundits after lead presenter Gary Lineker was asked to step back from coverage after breaking the broadcaster’s impartiality rules on Twitter.