Birt call to share licence fee

FORMER BBC director general Lord Birt has backed plans to give rival broadcasters a share of the corporation's licence fee.

The adviser to Tony Blair is throwing his weight behind the controversial idea as Ministers consider the future funding of the BBC, whose Royal Charter allowing it to collect the licence fee runs out in 2006.

Ministers are drafting a Green Paper on the corporation and Abbey chairman Lord Burns, a friend of Lord Birt, was asked to carry out a review. He said he thought some of the £4bn a year given to the BBC should go to other channels 'in the foreseeable future'.

Lord Birt's backing for the idea suggests the Prime Minister may take a tougher stance on the BBC before the charter is renewed for another ten years than the corporation had thought.

Culture Minister Tessa Jowell is against slicing a portion off the licence fee. And BBC executives argue that it would weaken the corporation.

The proposals to hand cash to rivals such as ITV were also blasted by the chairman of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee yesterday.

Sir Gerald Kaufman told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme: 'I think it is foolish and stupid.

'The licence fee exists to fund the BBC. It is a bad, regressive tax and it is accepted grudgingly as the only efficient and effective way of funding the BBC.'

He said the money raised was 'not there as some kind of kitty for whoever wants to dip into it'.