Rishi Sunak warns BBC bosses to be ‘realistic’ over any hike to licence fee amid cost-of-living crisis

RISHI Sunak has told BBC bosses to be realistic with next year’s licence fee increase.

The PM fired a warning shot to Beeb chiefs, indicating they should not expect an inflation-rate rise to take it from £159 to £173.30.

His comments sparked a wider debate among Tory MPs over the future of the licence fee and whether it should be replaced with a new funding model.

Mr Sunak said the BBC, like any other organisation that served the public, should be looking to “cut its cloth appropriately”.

He added: “The BBC should be realistic about what it can expect people to pay at a time like this.”

The licence fee was frozen for two years in 2022, with rises in line with inflation proposed from 2024 until 2027 when the BBC Charter is due for renewal.

If the licence rose in line with prices next year, families would face a jump of almost £15 — the highest in 40 years.

Mr Sunak acknowledged that the corporation was cutting costs.

But he said: “It’s important that when things are difficult everyone is doing what they can to ease the cost of living on families.”

A major government review is now expected to look into BBC funding, with Whitehall sources describing the current model as “unsustainable.

The BBC’s annual report showed the number of people who bought a licence plummeted by 500,000, with revenue falling from £3.8billion to £3.74billion

Ex-Cabinet minister David Jones said: “The licence fee is a very regressive tax so it is completely right to look at it.”

And yesterday former BBC executive Craig Oliver warned the broadcaster must adapt or die.