Greg Dyke attacks Tories for ‘intimidating BBC bosses’

The former BBC Director-General Greg Dyke, is now FA chairman (PA)

Greg Dyke has attacked the Conservatives for using intimidation tactics against the BBC after a senior Tory accused the corporation of political bias and secrecy. The former Director-General of the BBC, now chairman of the Football Association, has urged it to resist pressure from the Conservatives in the run-up to the general election in 2015.

Mr Dyke was responding to comments made by Tory chairman Grant Shapps over the weekend in which he suggested that the BBC could be forced to cut the licence fee, or face competition from other broadcasters for a share of the money, unless it became more transparent and fairer in its reporting.

But on Sunday Mr Dyke hit back on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, claiming that the Government was simply trying to scare the BBC. “This is so predictable,” he said. “Eighteen months from an election, the Government of the day, it doesn’t matter which government, decides to start pressurising the BBC and says if we win again, ‘We are going to take away your money’ – they all do it, it’s what they do.”

He continued: “This is an attempt to intimidate and pressurise the BBC. The BBC’s job is to resist.”

Mr Dyke’s intervention comes a week after he labelled Tony Blair a “shady figure”. Now head of the FA, Mr Dyke famously resigned from the BBC’s top job in 2004 after an inquiry heavily criticised the broadcaster following accusations the Government had “sexed up” up its intelligence to strengthen its case for invading Iraq.

The remarks by Mr Shapps has reignited a long-running debate about the BBC licence fee and whether the corporation should be publicly funded. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, he said public trust in the BBC had been undermined following a series of scandals, including the Jimmy Savile affair.

He said there were many ways licence fee payers could fund public service broadcasting. If the BBC failed to reform, the licence fee of £145.50 would be “too much”, he added.

Mr Shapps also highlighted concerns related to the BBC’s political standpoint, taking the usual step of singling out one of its senior journalists for unbalanced reporting. Yesterday the BBC responded, saying: “Mr Shapps is right that transparency is key to the future of the BBC. So is its freedom from political pressure.”

It added: “We are proud of the quality of our news and its commitment to reporting without bias. Where we believe or are shown to have erred we correct and apologise.”

The Conservatives have long said the BBC harbours left-wing bias, but senior Labour figures have also attacked the broadcaster over the years. In 2009, the then-Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw accused the BBC of being biased for airing interviews with George Osborne and a Tory commentator on the same radio programme.