The head of the BBC has insisted more than three million people who fail to pay the television licence fee should be prosecuted. Director-general Tim Davie rejected calls to “decriminalise” the fee and said those who do not pay the £174.50 charge should feel the full force of the law. It comes as some Labour MPs have called for an end to prosecutions, saying they hit low-income women more than other groups. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also slammed the fee for giving the BBC’s “woke, left-wing empire” a guaranteed income of more than £3.8 billion whether viewers want to pay or not.
Mr Davie outlined his stance on the licence and the corporation’s journalism as he answered questions from his own staff on the BBC Breakfast sofa. He said: “If people are evading the licence fee, it should be enforced. I support the current system, yes.” He added: “For the vast majority of people watching, who we’re there to serve, and this is what we get when we talk to people, they’ll say, we must make sure that those people who should be paying, are paying. That’s fair.”
House Of Commons Library figures show that more than 25,000 people were convicted of evading the £169.50 fee in 2024, the majority of whom were women.
There have been growing calls, including a public consultation in 2020 and a private member’s bill currently being debated, to decriminalise licence fee non-payment for over-75s, with some considering it too harsh a punishment.
The BBC estimates that 25.9 million households required a licence in 2024-25 but 12.52%, or 3.2 million, were non-compliant.
Viewers are liable to pay the licence even if they do not watch any BBC programming – and they don’t even need to own a television, as you need a licence to watch or record TV shows from any channel “as they are being shown” using an internet service on any device, including, for example, a phone. You also need a licence to watch catch-up shows on BBC iPlayer on any device.
Mr Davie also complained that the BBC is often criticised by people accusing it of bias. Asked about the biggest challenge the corporation has dealt with during his tenure, he said: “I actually think the BBC’s choice to maintain impartiality in a world that is so polarised.”
“It’s weaponised, we’ve got lobbies everywhere, it’s absolutely everyone trying to ascribe an agenda,” he said.
“If you make mistakes, it can impact trust, and I worry about that.”
He said: “I can reassure everyone that we are independent editorially, we absolutely act without fear or favour.”
The broadcaster faced criticism earlier this year after it pulled a Gaza documentary in February after it was revealed that a 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
And in the wake of the controversy about punk band Bob Vylan’s performance at Glastonbury which was played live on the BBC’s iPlayer, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy warned that “several” editorial failures “becomes a problem of leadership”.