BBC website should be shut down, says Tory frontbencher
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Shadow Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, called yesterday for the BBC to close down its website, which includes some of the most visited internet pages in Europe.
"It is not clear why BBCi is on the Net when, by and large, the same services are provided by commercial operators. He thinks the BBC should only provide services that no one else does," said a spokeswoman for Mr Whittingdale.
Mr Whittingdale's call suggests the BBC will face heavy criticism from the party's "independent review" of the corporation's future, under the chairmanship of the former Channel 5 (now Five) chief executive David Elstein. Mr Elstein has described the licence fee as less fair than the poll tax.
Meanwhile, the Government has launched its own investigation into the BBC's online activities, under the former Trinity Mirror chief executive Philip Graf. He refused to comment yesterday.
Mr Whittingdale's suggestion, though not yet official party policy, has led to speculation that the proposal might appear in the next Conservative manifesto. His spokeswoman would not comment when asked whether the plan would be popular with voters. The BBC site receives 1.2 billion "hits" every month - 9.1 million people in Britain access it monthly.
His proposal was greeted with interest by rival news website operators, some of which suffer heavy losses. Tim Faircliff, operations director of Telegraph.co.uk, said the BBC site should be allowed to stay open but "we would like to have a level playing field". In particular, there should be a clampdown of cross-promotion of the website on radio and television.
The BBC said Mr Whittingdale was "entitled to his views".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments