The appointment of Richard Sharp has undermined the whole ethos of the BBC

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We need to be constantly alert to creeping political meddling in our national institutions (PA Archive)

The BBC has long been the subject of usually unfair criticism from both Tory and Labour supporters at different times – which ironically suggests that it is probably doing its job rather well.

As an inveterate listener to current affairs coverage on both Radio 4 and BBC TV, I have always found it scrupulously even-handed – to the point sometimes of giving too much air time to fringe populist voices. When individual producers, commentators and reporters overstep the mark they get pounced on pretty quickly by politicians and other media. However the BBC has an important role in investigative journalism, and that often does involve treading on some quite powerful toes, predictably provoking political outrage.

The constant threat to reduce or abolish the licence fee is already an example of blatant political interference. Of course, the BBC must be financially and editorially accountable, but to the public not to political parties, and the licence fee is not government money. The best arrangement would be for the BBC to have an apolitical supervisory board.