Pro-BBC protesters don Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings masks during demo against scrapping licence fee at New Broadcasting House in London
- Activists gathered for symbolic ‘game of Whack-A-Mole’ on BBC programmes
- Comes as Government was reported to be intent on wanting to ‘whack’ the BBC
- Among those protesting today was Labour MP Clive Lewis; the campaigners launched It’s Our BBC campaign and petition at the event
- BBC boss Lord Hall says licence fee is here to stay – and hit back at suggestion BBC is redundant after rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon
Pro-BBC protesters gathered at New Broadcasting House today to ‘push back’ against the possible end of the licence fee.
The Government has suggested that the BBC could be turned into a subscription service.
Now campaigners have donned masks to look like Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his chief adviser Dominic Cummings.
They gathered for a symbolic ‘game of Whack-A-Mole’ on BBC programmes, after the government was reported to be intent on wanting to ‘whack’ the BBC.
Pro-BBC protesters gathered at New Broadcasting House today to ‘push back’ against the possible end of the licence fee. Some wore masks to look like Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his chief adviser Dominic Cummings
They gathered for a symbolic ‘game of Whack-A-Mole’ on BBC programmes, after the government was reported to be intent on wanting to ‘whack’ the BBC
Labour MP Clive Lewis (pictured) was among those at the protest. The campaigners launched the It’s Our BBC campaign and a petition at the event
Cat Hobbs, director of public ownership campaign group We Own It – which organised the event – called the BBC a ‘national treasure.
‘Its programmes and services have had an unparalleled impact on our culture and understanding of the world – from Planet Earth to The Archers, Match Of The Day to the World Service,’ she said.
‘As the UK forges a new path after Brexit, we should be proud of our fantastic globally respected British institutions like the BBC.
‘It is utterly staggering that the government would want to strip that back and leave us without the wonderful contribution the BBC makes.’
BBC boss Lord Hall recently said he believes the licence fee is here to stay and hit back at a suggestion that the broadcaster is redundant following the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon
Labour MP Clive Lewis and writer Grace Blakeley were also at the protest.
Blakeley said it was time to ‘push back against some of what we’re hearing from Number 10 about the licence fee being taken away.
‘We think it’s really important that the BBC stays in public hands and remains a public service broadcaster,’ she said.
‘It comes under a lot of criticism and often rightly so…. but ultimately it is the only institution that has a real responsibility to make sure it is expressing views across the political spectrum,’ Blakeley, who sits on Labour’s National Policy Forum, said.
The campaigners launched the It’s Our BBC campaign and a petition at the event.
BBC boss Lord Hall recently said he believes the licence fee is here to stay and hit back at a suggestion that the broadcaster is redundant following the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.
The licence fee model means that ‘you’ve got to give something to everybody. I think that is a fantastic creative challenge’, he told a conference.
The Government has launched a consultation on decriminalising the evasion of the licence fee.
And from June this year, the current scheme of all over-75s receiving free TV licences will be restricted to those who claim pension credit.
Will the Government ‘whack’ the BBC and turn it into a subscription service?
In February, Downing Street signalled a new onslaught on the BBC – with a threat to scrap the television licence fee and turn it into a subscription service.
A senior source said the broadcaster could be forced to sell off most of its radio stations in a ‘massive pruning back’ of its activities.
The source told The Sunday Times that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ‘really strident’ on the need for serious reform.
They said there would be a consultation on replacing the licence fee with a subscription model, adding: ‘We will whack it.’
In early January, the BBC faced a fresh Government boycott after handing a plum job on Newsnight to a former Labour activist who likened Boris Johnson to Enoch Powell
The paper said that the number of BBC television channels could also be reduced, the website scaled back and stars banned from cashing in on well-paid second jobs.
The attack will be seen as a further escalation of the hostilities between No 10 and the corporation, with many Tories still angry at its coverage of last year’s general election.
And in early January, the BBC faced a fresh Government boycott after handing a plum job on Newsnight to a former Labour activist who likened Boris Johnson to Enoch Powell.
Ministers are already snubbing Radio 4’s Today under orders from No 10, and say the BBC2 flagship current affairs programme – presented by Emily Maitlis – is likely to be added to the blacklist.
The threat follows the appointment of Lewis Goodall as Newsnight’s policy editor.
He is the author of a string of aggressively anti-Tory comments on social media.
Downing Street has questioned the future of the licence fee and complained about the BBC’s General Election coverage, saying it spoke ‘to a pro-Remain metropolitan bubble in Islington, not the real world represented by Wakefield and Workington’.
Additional reporting by GLEN OWEN for the Mail on Sunday