Reform UK’s Lee Anderson has said a double whammy of BBC scandals proved it was time to scrap the licence fee. The corporation faced a day of shame after publishing two damning reports into the conduct of star presenter Gregg Wallace and a breach of guidelines with a Gaza documentary.
A report into the former MasterChef presenter upheld 45 claims of inappropriate sexual language, humour and one incident of “unwelcome physical contact”, with claims of a “longstanding failure to protect people against unacceptable workplace behaviour”. Hours later, the BBC published an internal review finding that it breached editorial guidelines over accuracy when failing to disclose that the child narrator of a documentary on Gaza was the son of a Hamas official. Mr Anderson told the Express that both scandals proved the corporation could no longer be trusted by the public.
Lee Anderson has long been against the BBC licence fee (Image: Reform UK)
The insurgent party’s chief whip blasted: “The BBC has become a state-funded propaganda machine, no longer deserving the trust of the British people.
“From the events at Glastonbury, the Gregg Wallace scandal, to allegations of payments reaching the family of a Hamas minister, it’s clear the BBC now pushes an agenda of its own.
“Being forced to pay for biased news coverage is something you’d expect from the Chinese Communist Party, not from a democratic nation like Great Britain. It’s time to render the BBC irrelevant and scrap the TV licence altogether.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie is once again facing calls to resign or be sacked over the Gaza documentary outrage, where licence fee payer cash was handed to the family of the Hamas official.
Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “If the BBC were an accountable organisation, senior executives would be scrambling to save their jobs.
“Instead, it’s the usual weasel pledge to ‘update some guidelines’. This is appalling.
“Under director-general Tim Davie, the BBC has gone from national treasure to national embarrassment. He needs to go.”
The BBC has been put on the back foot with the Gaza film and Gregg Wallace scandals (Image: BBC/Getty)
Mr Davie was already facing calls to quit in the wake of the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage. The corporation broadcast chants demanding “death to the IDF” during a performance by Bob Vylan.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman deferred to the BBC board over Mr Davie’s future. He insisted that Sir Keir Starmer still “has confidence in the BBC”.
Dame Caroline Dineage, chairwoman of the House of Commons’ Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said the Wallace report detailed a “longstanding failure to protect people against unacceptable workplace behaviour”.
Speaking of Banijay, the production firm behind Wallace’s appearances on MasterChef, she added: “This report sets out the facts. It is for Banijay and the BBC to say what comes next.
“Acknowledging the need for change at MasterChef is a welcome first step. Both Banijay and the corporation now need to raise their game to ensure their complaints process is robust enough to inspire confidence in both staff and freelancers.”
The Conservative Shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew said “lessons must be learned” over the handling of the Wallace scandal, adding that the BBC “must commit to preventing misconduct and not just responding to it once it becomes public”.
On the Gaza documentary, Mr Andrew added: “The BBC has repeatedly failed to challenge antisemitic rhetoric masquerading as political commentary, broadcast Hamas-linked voices and is accused of minimising attacks on Jewish communities. This all reveals a troubling pattern of anti-Israel bias as well as their failure to uphold impartiality.”
“The BBC must urgently reform its editorial standards, enforce accountability and show it is capable of upholding its duty of public trust.”
