Claire (not her real name), a disabled mum in her 30s, never imagined she’d ever face criminal prosecution. But earlier this year, that’s what happened – for non-payment of her TV licence.
The stress took its toll on her mental and physical health.
“I don’t think I’m a criminal,” she says. “I have two kids I take to school every day, I try and pay my bills… I had to get anxiety tablets because I couldn’t sleep.”
As the BBClooks to broker a new funding deal with the government in the next three years, critics of the current licence fee model argue it is hard to justify how non-payment is still seen as serious enough to merit criminal prosecution.
The fee is currently a flat rate of £169.50 – poorest households pay as much as the richest.
Claire, who was fined £750 for non-payment, spoke to us anonymously about her experience of dealing with the fast-track system of processing cases.
The whole process, she says, was “terrifying”. At the time the enforcement officer knocked on her door, her partner had recently been jailed for domestic violence. He had previously taken control of her finances.
“All my money was in his account and I wasn’t getting access… from what I was aware he was paying the bills but it turned out he wasn’t,” she says.
The enforcement officer said he understood, Claire says. But a week later she received a letter to say she was going to be prosecuted.
Claire was told she would need paperwork to prove her situation, but didn’t have the money to send off for it. With 21 days to respond she felt she had to plead guilty or the costs might escalate.
“All you think is, ‘If I don’t pay this are they going to put me in prison?’.”
The licence fee has always been the BBC’s bread and butter – but given 500,000 households cancelled last year, there are questions over its sustainability. Other models such as Netflix, for example, successfully exist without needing the threat of prosecution.
Can the BBC still justify it?
Mary Marvel, head of policy at access-to-justice charity Law For Life, says “innocent people are feeling forced to plead otherwise” so their fine is reduced.
Under the Conservative government, various reviews looked into the pros and cons of decriminalising non-payment – ultimately concluding to keep the system as it is for now. Previously, the BBC said switching to a civil system would cost more than £1bn and lead to major cuts.
The Times newspaper recently claimed the current Labour government intends to scrap prosecutions over concerns women are being unfairly penalised. However, Sky News understands this is not the case.
Ahead of the BBC’s next charter review, all the government has officially said is that it isn’t ruling out making changes – and there will be consultation before making any decisions.
Almost three-quarters of 2023 prosecutions were women
Currently, the vast majority of prosecutions are dealt with via a system called the single justice procedure – a fast-track for relatively straightforward cases designed to fix the backlog of court delays.
Cases are processed by a single magistrate in private, and letters from defendants often go unread by prosecutors if an individual pleads guilty.
Almost 31,000 people were prosecuted for non-payment of the TV licence last year. Just over 73% were women.
Why the disparity? In 2023, a BBC review found that more than 60% of single-adult households are female, compared with less than 40% male. The review also found behavioural differences: women are more likely to be at home; more likely to open the door; and more likely to be the point of contact for bills and domestic admin.
Magistrates Association chief executive Tom Franklin says the TV Licensing authority should review pleas and mitigations before cases come before magistrates, giving an opportunity for them to be withdrawn if not in the public interest – “particularly for the most vulnerable in society”.
The government says the decision to prosecute “sits with TV Licensing”, but it is “keeping under review” its oversight and regulation of organisations using the single justice procedure.
A TV Licensing spokesperson said the authority would contact Claire and review the prosecution.
“We have the ability to overturn a conviction when provided with evidence that it was not in the public interest,” they said.
Significant reasons could include domestic violence, and mental and physical ill-health, the spokesperson said, adding that prosecution is always a “last resort”.
For now, Claire is incrementally using universal credit to pay back a fine she arguably shouldn’t have been prosecuted for in the first place.
Across five decades in three different countries and involving as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa, John Smyth QC is said to have subjected his victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives.
The report concluded he might have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported it to police a decade ago.
In a resignation letter Justin Welby said: “Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign.
“The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuse of John Smyth.
“When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and re-traumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
“The last few days have renewed my long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly 12 years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.
“In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.”
Smyth died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and so was “never brought to justice for the abuse”, the review said.
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Gary Lineker will step down as host of Match Of The Day at the end of the season, the BBC has confirmed.
The 63-year-old will continue to host coverage of the FA Cup in 2025/26 and the World Cup in 2026, the broadcaster announced.
Lineker will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast while his The Rest Is Football podcast, which features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will now be hosted on BBC Sounds.
The former England footballer said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”
Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup.
“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.
“He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”
Lineker has hosted the Premier League highlights show since 1999, after his predecessor Des Lynam moved to ITV.
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He is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces popular shows such as The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment, as well as his own football podcast.
The company, founded in 2014, claims to be the UK’s largest independent podcast firm and said in September its podcasts had been downloaded more than 380 million times so far this year.
Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid star in recent years for his work on shows including Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year, as well as coverage of major tournaments including World Cups and European Championships.
It is unclear who will take over from Lineker on Match Of The Day.
Former Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermaine Jenas had at one point been considered to be his natural successor but he was sacked from the BBC in August over claims of inappropriate behaviour.
Lineker enjoyed a successful career as a striker, winning 80 caps for England, before moving into broadcasting.
The Queen will return to public duties today after her chest infection but will miss the Gladiator II premiere on Wednesday to aid her recovery, a royal source has said.
The 77-year-old was forced to withdraw from her duties last week and missed the weekend’s Remembrance Day commemoration events.
Queen Camilla will attend a Booker Prize reception at Clarence House on Tuesday, but will meet guests for a shorter period than planned.
She will also still attend a Palace reception with the King on Wednesday to celebrate the TV and film industry, but she is not expected to be present for the entirety of the engagement.
The changes to her diary are understood to have been made to protect and prioritise her continued recovery, with royal doctors keen to prevent any setback from a seasonal illness.
It comes after Prince William said 2024 has been “brutal” and “probably the hardest year in my life”, due to his wife and father’s cancer diagnoses.
Speaking on a tour of Cape Town this week, he said: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful.
“It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
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Discussing how his relatives have coped with their health struggles, he added: “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.
“But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”