Nadine Dorries: BBC licence fee ‘criminalises people who want to watch television’

Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has attacked the BBC licence fee , arguing the mandatory payment "criminalises people who want to watch television." Dorries criticised the funding model for unfairly charging viewers, when she appeared on ITV’s Peston show on Wednesday (12 November). She also questioned the system's viability in the "digital age," stressing that the younger generation now gather news from other sources. Her comments reignite the debate over the future of the licence fee, which she previously sought to freeze while in government.