Television Licences Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Lord McNally
Main Page: Lord McNally (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord McNally's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Barran
The noble Lord is critical of the last settlement, but I would remind him that the BBC itself regarded it as a good deal.
Lord McNally (LD) [V]
My Lords, the licence fee was created by a Conservative Government to protect the BBC from intimidation and sniping by the Government of the day. Is it not time that the Government stopped using the licence fee as a bran tub to dip into for populist causes and gave the BBC the protection from political interference that it deserves?
Baroness Barran
I am slightly perplexed by the noble Lord’s question, because I do not think that the Government see the licence fee as a bran tub at all. As I have said in answer to almost every question today, the Government absolutely respect the editorial and operational independence of the BBC.