Calls for the BBC TV licence to be scrapped have been re-fuelled after a shocking new case where a severely disabled woman was prosecuted for not having paid it despite her being partially blind.
The case has raised serious questions about the so-called TV tax which has in the past seen some of the poorest in society, usually mothers of young children, being imprisoned for non-payment. All this while paying celebrities like Gary Lineker around £1.5million a year to present football highlights.
Former minister Sir John Hayes, founder of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs, said: “I suggest she and all those pensioners who are cruelly pursued, regardless of their circumstances, send bills equivalent to their fines to multi-millionaire, BBC-funded Gary Lineker.”
The latest outrage, which has been condemned by Conservative MPs and others, involved a 62-year-old disabled woman from near Sunderland, prosecuted over an unpaid TV Licence and told to pay a £56 fine.
The woman is partially blind and has memory problems after a brain haemorrhage but was still prosecuted.
In a desperate letter to the court, she wrote: “I am so sorry I have not paid. I had a brain haemorrhage which has left me needing cognitive care and partly blind.”
She went on: “I forget everything but sometimes do remember when in shops, but forget what I do pay. I would have been better with a monthly direct debit. So sorry. I can’t afford fines.”
The BBC has been branded “disgusting” for pursuing the woman.
Tory MP Lee Anderson said: “The BBC has once again proven what a bunch of bullies they are. Picking on pensioners is the lowest of the low and Aunty Beeb should concentrate on providing a world-class service rather than a substandard bullying service that attacks the most vulnerable in society.”
Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said: “This makes my blood boil. The BBC is a disgrace – they should immediately retract any action and issue an apology to her. The stress caused must be immense, this is the bully boy centre in action. All so they can fund leading woke advocate and leftwing activism within their ranks at £1.5million a time…you know who I’m talking about!”
Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said: “There’s no reason in this day and age why the licence fee should still be continuing in its current form and our courts have enough work as it is dealing with real criminals without being clogged up with nonsense like this.”
Reform UK leader Richard Tice added: “Truly disgraceful. The BBC prosecutes blind people with brain disorders to fund Gary Lineker’s fat salary. Let’s defund the BBC. The judge also needs to question his priorities and get a grip.”
Bracknell Conservative MP James Sunderland called for the conviction to be overturned. He said: “It’s disgusting.”
Dame Andrea Jenkyns said: “This is heartbreaking. Why are we allowing vulnerable people like this lady who clearly needs support to be prosecuted by the BBC? Yet the outdated licence fee can pavilions of pounds to fund a wokefest of presenters like Lineker. It’s time to Defund the BBC.”
Another case saw a depressed and sick pensioner who was caring for his gravely ill wife, prosecuted after he forgot to pay for a TV Licence. The 71-year-old from West Bromwich was convicted and fined £40.
Like the first case, he was tried under a secretive fast-track process in the magistrates court.
In his heartbreaking evidence, he told the court: “I am currently suffering from depression due to my wife of 50 years being in a vegetative state due to an incident where she choked.”
Another recent case has seen the conviction overturned for non-payment of the TV licence involving a 57-year-old woman with Downs Syndrome.
The BBC was approached for comment.
