Viewers cancel licence fee after BBC’s day of controversy marks ‘final straw’
Simone Gordon from Lincoln says she feels the BBC has ‘sold its soul’ after its recent decisions
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.Viewers who cancelled their TV licence fee in response to a day of controversy for the BBC have said they feel the corporation has “sold its soul”.
Friday saw Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker being asked to step back from presenting the show Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce accused of trivialising domestic abuse and claims the BBC pulled an episode of a new Sir David Attenborough series out of fears of a political backlash.
Among several Twitter users posting pictures proving they had cancelled their monthly direct debits for their TV licence fee, was learning and disabilities support worker Simone Gordon.
“I have felt for a while that there has been bias towards the Government shown by the BBC in its news coverage,” the 42-year-old from Lincoln told the PA news agency.
“The treatment of Gary Lineker this week confirmed what I feared.
“Fiona Bruce describing Stanley Johnson in last night’s Question Time hitting his wife ‘just the once’ seemed further proof of this.
“The BBC’s decision not to broadcast (Sir) David Attenborough’s episode in case it offended right-wing viewers was the final straw.
“I had to cancel my TV licence otherwise I would feel that I would be supporting their agenda.”
The BBC has defended Bruce, stating she was voicing the context of domestic abuse allegations made towards Stanley Johnson, former prime minister Boris Johnson’s father, and also claimed there “was no sixth episode” of Sir David’s Wild Isles.
Ms Gordon said she has set up a direct debit for the amount of money she was paying towards the licence fee to go to the RSPB, a charity which helped to produce the contested sixth episode of Sir David’s show, Saving Our Wild Isles, which is about restoring biodiversity in the UK.
“I think the BBC has sold its soul – the once great public service broadcaster is now in my view nothing more than a mouthpiece for the most right-wing British government ever to hold office,” said Ms Gordon, a Labour voter.
“Shame on them. The BBC is not, in my view, impartial anymore.”
Angela Riley, an outdoor nursery manager from Edinburgh, Scotland, shared a Guardian article about the controversy surrounding Sir David’s documentary series on Twitter, stating: “That’s it – monthly TV Licence cancelled until further notice.
The BBC is not in my view impartial anymore.
“I can no longer in good faith continue to fund the slow but relentless assault on the integrity of the BBC by this (Conservative) government.”
The 42-year-old, who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, told the PA news agency the events on Friday were “a step too far”.
“I lived through years of an apartheid South Africa and saw first hand how the state’s media was used for political gain and to stir up hatred amongst its citizens,” she said.
“You can’t ever downplay the influence and responsibly the media has, to coin a phrase from (CNN news anchor) Christiane Amanpour, to be ‘truthful, not neutral.’
“Sadly, this for me is a step too far. The final nail in the coffin.”