The House of Commons committee on the “media” has said it should not be a criminal offence to watch television without a licence. At present a maximum fine of £1000 can be imposed for watching TV without the permission of the BBC. If the law is changed in the way the committee recommended failure to pay the licence fee would result in action in the civil courts if detected.
The committee also called for reform of the way in which the state media giant is governed, regulation of its commercial operations and a new act of parliament as the basis for the its existence. The BBC, which is on its best behaviour as its charter comes up for renewal, gave what the Financial Times described as a “guarded welcome” to the report.