Gary Lineker suggests BBC licence fee becomes ‘voluntary’ payment
One of the BBC’s top-paid presenters, Gary Lineker, has suggested that the television licence becomes a voluntary payment.
The Match of the Day host, whose salary from the corporation was around £1,750,000 per year in 2018-19, said the annual charge of £154.50 was the main problem with the BBC, which he described as “unbelievably respected around the world”.
“The licence fee is our fundamental problem. You’re forced to pay it if you want a TV, and therefore it’s a tax. The public pay our salaries, so everyone is a target,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.
“I would make the licence fee voluntary. I’ve always said, for a long time, I would make it voluntary.”
The former footballer said he was “genuinely passionate” about the BBC, where he has worked for 25 years, but weighed in on the licence fee debate by suggesting that those who couldn’t afford to pay the annual charge could be helped by a change in the system.
“I don’t know the logistics of how it would work. You would lose some people, but at the same time you’d up the price a bit,” Lineker said. “It’s the price of a cup of coffee a week at the moment. If you put it up you could help older people, or those that can’t afford it.”
HIs suggestion comes less than a year after the BBC announced plans to discontinue free TV licences for the over-75s, instead moving to a means-tested system that would allow low-income households where one person gets pension credit to have a free TV licence.
Under the new rules, the majority of over 75s are set to lose their free TV licence.
Lineker’s comments come amid ongoing discussions about the licence fee, with some campaigners questioning how the BBC can have such high-salaried employees while cutting free licences for the over-75s.
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