A group of 50 Tory MPs are supporting a call for the BBC licence fee to be scrapped in favour of a voluntary subscription service.
It emerged on Saturday night that the Conservatives are supporting an appeal to the Culture Secretary Sajid Javid urging a review into funding for the corporation.
It is led by Tory MP Andrew Bridgen who has written to Mr Javid to say the current funding arrangement is “increasingly becoming unsustainable and out of keeping with the modern media environment”.
His challenge comes ahead of The Royal Charter governing the BBC’s purpose expiring.
It runs until December 31 next year, sparking increased debate over the future of the corporation and the licence fee used to fund it.
Informal talks have already begun about the charter’s renewal and are being headed up by former Labour Cabinet minister James Purnell.
Over the past decade the fee has increased by a fifth, from £121 in 2004, to £145.50, although it has remained frozen since 2010.
Mr Bridgen said: “The licence fee is an anachronism. It dates back to when there wasn’t much choice. At the end of the day, I think the BBC has to be independent of government.”
The BBC has come under fire for spending licence fee money on an awards ceremony for staff and freebies for celebrities and politicians despite plans to axe 400 jobs.
However, they insist the licence fee is essential to produce top quality programming like Doctor Who and Sherlock that can be viewed by everyone.
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