BBC staff lose £550,000 of phones and laptops in last five years – enough to pay 3,500 TV licence fees

• A total of 291 phones and 298 laptops revealed to have vanished from the BBC 
• Value of missing property enough to pay for 3,500 of the £154.50 TV licence fee
• Comes after controversial BBC decision to scrap free licence fees for over-75s 

Staff at the BBC have lost almost £550,000 worth of mobile phones and laptops in the past five years – enough to fund more than 3,500 licence fees.  

The figures, obtained through a series of freedom of information requests, reveal that a total of 291 phones and 298 laptops have vanished from the corporation.

All the missing phones are valued at £83,000 while the laptops are thought to be worth in excess of £466,000 – enough to pay for 3,500 of the £154.50 licence fee.

It comes after a controversial decision by the BBC to scrap free TV licences for the over-75s. The corporation earlier this month said it could not afford to take on the financial burden from the Government.  

The devices had been in the hands of programme-makers and news gatherers. Some were stolen and not lost – with the BBC saying some staff members had been mugged outside New Broadcasting House in London (pictured)

All the missing phones are valued at £83,000 while the laptops are thought to be worth in excess of £466,000 – enough to pay for 3,500 of the £154.50 licence fee

Phones and laptops make up the bulk of the equipment lost by the BBC, but other missing property also includes vehicles, cameras and projectors – as revealed by The Times. 

The devices had been in the hands of programme-makers and news gatherers. Some were stolen and not lost – with the BBC saying some staff members had been mugged outside New Broadcasting House in London. 

Items to have been stolen include £43,816 worth of camera gear in 2015. A £1,700 camera also vanished from the BBC’s New Broadcasting House headquarters in central London in 2017.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance pressure group, told The Times: ‘Given that the BBC receives its money from licence-fee payers, it has a duty to spend it wisely.

‘The public will be disappointed to learn that their money has been used to purchase expensive items which the BBC have failed to take care of, meaning that more money has to be spent on replacing them.’

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance pressure group, said that the public will be disappointed to learn about the lost property

While a spokesman for BBC said: ‘Staff and freelancers can, like the rest of the population, be victims of crime and this includes staff who have been mugged by people on scooters outside New Broadcasting House, which we have warned staff about, and a camera stolen from the route of the Boat Race as reported at the time.’ 

The news comes after the BBC said it could not afford to cover free licences for 3.7million over-75 following the government’s decision to stop funding them and shift the responsibility to the corporation. 

It was also revealed last month that the BBC is to spend £3million on branded hoodies, mugs, and other promotional goods. The money is equivalent to 20,000 TV licence fees. 

Source: Read Full Article