BBC Breakfast: Walker grills Boris Johnson on supply chain issues

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After Nadine Dorries doubted the broadcaster’s long-term future, the Prime Minister insisted the BBC will be around for a long time. Mr Johnson also praised the BBC and labelled it as a “great national institution” in contrast to his minister. His remarks came as his cabinet minister claimed the BBC may no longer exist in 10 years.

Just hours before, Ms Dorris had claimed the broadcaster excluded those with regional accents.

In an interview with GB News, Mr Johnson said: “The BBC has been around for a very long time, it’s a great national institution, I’ve no doubt that it will be around for a long time to come.”

Ms Dorris, who is set to announce the new licence fee deal with the broadcaster, said its staff needed to reflect a wider demographic as she attacked the BBC. 

She said during an event: “I can’t look into the future.

“Will the BBC still be here in 10 years? I don’t know.

“We can’t look into the future. It is a very competitive environment at the moment.

“You have got Amazon Prime, Netflix and other bods coming down the line.

“This younger generation that are coming through, they certainly watch their television in a very different way to how my generation watched its TV, so who knows where we will be?”

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The Culture Secretary and Mid Bedfordshire MP, also told the event hosted by the Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast, the BBC suffers from a “groupthink” attitude.

The BBC had been locked in negotiations with Oliver Dowden over its five-year licence agreement.

Any new agreement must be announced while Parliament and may be done so on October 18 when MPs return to the Commons.

While director-general Tim Davie claimed the BBC would not have been created in the 21st century, he insisted it remains a cherished institution.

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He told the Royal Television Society: “Of course you wouldn’t invent the BBC now.

“But you wouldn’t invent many things that are wonderful precious things.

“But by goodness you wouldn’t change it.”

Prior to the announcement of the new licence fee, the BBC was forced to make cuts to its workforce in order to save money.

Last July, the broadcaster announced 70 job cuts from its news division, including Radio 4 and the World at One.

Previously, the broadcaster announced a further 450 cuts to its workforce.

As part of the cuts, Andrew Neil’s show was removed as well as Victoria Derbyshire.

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