BBC licence charge being checked out ‘very intently’ as Lineker snubbed

The BBC licence charge is being checked out “very closely”, the Culture Secretary has mentioned.

Lucy Frazer mentioned a evaluate into the company’s funding preparations is “a variety of sources for its funding”.

Ms Frazer additionally dismissed calls – together with from Gary Lineker – to take away political interference from the appointment of its chair.

The Cabinet minister mentioned Rishi Sunak will appoint the “best candidate” to switch Richard Sharp as BBC chair, no matter their political ties.

Mr Sharp resigned after he was discovered to have damaged the foundations by failing to reveal he performed a component in getting Boris Johnson an £800,000 mortgage assure.

Ms Frazer instructed Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “We will be looking for the best candidate.

“I strongly consider that we should always not disqualify individuals from public workplace who put themselves ahead, who’re able to doing the job, as a result of they occur to have prior to now supported a political occasion.”

The BBC funding model has long been under consideration by the Government, which has argued the licence fee is losing support among the public amid a changing media landscape.

Ms Frazer told the BBC‘s Laura Kuenssberg On Sunday programme: “We are reviewing the licence charge. I’ve began that evaluate.

“We will be looking very closely at its funding arrangement.

“I do assume it would want to take a look at a wide range of sources for its funding.

“I’d like to make sure the BBC is correctly funded. The licence charge is not the one method.”

Tory former tradition secretary Nadine Dorries introduced final yr that the licence charge can be frozen at £159 for the following two years till April 2024, saying she needed to discover a new funding mannequin earlier than the present deal expires in 2027 as it’s “completely outdated”.