‘Defund the BBC’ trended on social media after it was reported that chief of the British state media Tim Davie has received a £75,000 salary hike. The pay hike for the Director-General comes days after people over 75 years of age were mandated to pay the BBC license fee for the first time.
The salary hike for Tim Davie is a 16.6% raise, sparking strong criticism from people across the board. “The public’s view could not be clearer — salaries for top executives and stars are too high at the BBC,” Tory MP Nigel Mills said of the matter.
“The idea the person running the BBC earns nearly four times as much as the Prime Minister is baffling. It’s impossible to justify,” he added. On social media, people trended the hashtag ‘Defund the BBC’ to express their anger over the development.
Kelvin MacKenzie, founder of talkSPORT, said that the BBC has gone mad.
The BBC have gone quite mad and given a £75K rise to £525K to Director General Tim Davie. The 16.6% hike comes as the over 75s are having to pay £157.50 licence fee for the first time. He hasn't even got an HGV licence. Davie is not worth the money- our money. #DefundTheBBC
— Kelvin MacKenzie (@kelvmackenzie) September 27, 2021
Others attacked the British state media along similar lines while trending ‘Defund the BBC’.
How wonderful.
— NotWhatYouThink (@NotWhatY0uThink) September 27, 2021
A: The elderly have been forced to pay for a TV licence they can't afford.
B: the poorest have faced reduced income and increased household bills.
C: the national minimum wage gets raised by what 1.5% yoy.
But sure give this man a pay rise. #DefundTheBBC https://t.co/adcQgH2X6j
An absolute disgrace. Nearly four times that of the Prime Ministers salary. How can this be right – paid for by the licence payers. #DefundTheBBC https://t.co/ejdZmxNGpO
— Brian Ambler 🇬🇧 (@BrianAmbler2) September 27, 2021
People are also angry over a documentary on Jimmy Savile, a late presenter who raped children as young as nine years old while working for the BBC. Savile is believed to be one of Britain’s most prolific pedophile who raped hundreds of women and children. A report found that 73% of his victims were children. His youngest victim was eight years old.
Retired Justice Dame Janet Smith, in her investigation into the matter, concluded that the BBC had missed ‘five clear opportunities’ to stop the ‘serial sexual predator’. According to the investigative report, dubbed the Dame Janet Smith Review, said that the incidents of sexual abuse occurred “in virtually every one of the BBC premises at which he worked”.
As such, people are not pleased that the BBC will produce a documentary on a pedophile who raped children while hosting a show on the network.
#BBC scum making money from it's very own peadophile #DefundTheBBC
— Brexit Bill Gammon -some recollections may vary✡ (@Bill4Brexit) September 26, 2021
BBC News – Steve Coogan to play Jimmy Savile in BBC One dramahttps://t.co/ARgurDCHBI
The BBC the irony, making a new drama about the very person they helped to cover up. Plus who on earth would want to watch this anyway! Madness #DefundTheBBC
— Natalie 🌸 (@Nataliew323) September 26, 2021
Jimmy Savile to be played by Steve Coogan in new drama https://t.co/n3siIPvGBX via https://t.co/c6jNLCDgba
Comedian Steve Coogan has been approached to play the role of Jimmy Savile in the “new BBC One drama”. Executive Producer Jeff Pope said, “The purpose of this drama is to explore how Savile’s offending went unchecked for so long, and in shining a light on this, to ensure such crimes never happen again. Steve Coogan has a unique ability to inhabit complex characters and will approach this role with the greatest care and integrity.”