Lisa Nandy calls on BBC to make more cuts moments after her Radio 4 interview is hit by technical glitch
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By CHRIS HASTINGS
Published: | Updated:
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has called on the BBC to make further cuts following a fall in the number of people willing to pay the licence fee.
She made her demand on Radio 4’s flagship Today programme yesterday – moments after her interview was hit by a technical glitch which host Justin Webb blamed on money problems.
Ms Nandy, who was in Salford, could not initially hear Webb in London. He told her: ‘You’ve come face-to-face with what happens when an organisation runs out of money.’
Ms Nandy replied: ‘The BBC is not in dire straits, but there are financial pressures.’
Elsewhere in the interview, she said the broadcaster’s director general Matt Brittin was right to push forward with a package of cuts worth £500million and said the BBC needed to raise more money through commercial operations.
Asked if there should be a ‘smaller’ and ‘leaner’ BBC, she replied: ‘[Brittin] is right to say that there is scope for greater efficiency. There is also scope for ensuring that the BBC makes the most of the commercial revenue that it can raise.’
The broadcaster faces a massive funding shortfall after the number of households paying the £180-a-year licence fee fell by 500,000 – to 23.3 million – in a year.
In recent weeks it has axed programmes including Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind, Live At The Apollo and Ski Sunday, while other popular shows, and even whole channels such as BBC Three and BBC Four, are also thought to be at risk.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has called on the BBC to make further cuts following a fall in the number of people willing to pay the licence fee
Even Today has not been immune, with its roster of presenters cut from five to four, with only one host presenting on Saturdays.
After the technical hitch Ms Nandy – who said the BBC’s news and children’s output should be protected – joked that more spending on the Salford studios should be added to that list of priorities.
In another interview, she fuelled fears the BBC could be funded by a levy on internet services, saying: ‘I don’t think the licence fee is finished but we are looking at a number of options.’
Read more: Staff mutiny at 'toxic' BBC Sport as boss set to cut jobs 'in bid to save £2.5million'
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