David Dimbleby slams BBC presenters who take on lucrative jobs outside the corporation
Ex-Question Time host David Dimbleby takes sly swipe at Naga Munchetty as he slams BBC presenters who take on lucrative jobs outside the corporation
- David Dimbleby hosted BBC’s political debate show Question Time for 25 years
- The 81-year-old has raised concerns about the future of the corporation
- It comes amid reports that Downing Street is looking to axe the TV licence fee
David Dimbleby appeared to take a sly swipe at Naga Munchetty as he slammed BBC presenters who take on lucrative jobs outside the corporation.
The 81-year-old, who hosted political debate show Question Time for 25 years, also criticised Boris Johnson’s attacks on the BBC as he raised concerns about its future.
It comes amid reports that Downing Street is looking to axe the TV licence fee and instead fund the BBC through viewer subscriptions.
David Dimbleby has slammed Boris Johnson’s attacks on the BBC as ‘frightening and dangerous’ amid concerns about the corporation’s future
Mr Dimbleby told The Times: ‘If you present the news you shouldn’t go off and earn 20 grand for chairing a paint conference.’
He added that hosts should not be using social media in order to boost their public profile.
‘I’ve never tweeted… anything that dents the feeling that you are trying to be as objective and dispassionate a possible is just wrong.’
Naga Munchetty was recently rapped by corporation bosses after appearing in a business interview series for NatWest.
Naga Munchetty was recently rapped by corporation bosses after appearing in a business interview series for NatWest
The BBC Breakfast presenter, who earns up to £195,000 per year, hosted webinars for the banking giant weeks after she was rebuked for fronting a paid corporate video for car maker Aston Martin.
She already appears to have antagonised new director general Tim Davie, who has launched a radical shake-up of the national broadcaster to dispel accusations of partiality.
The BBC previously told MailOnline Munchetty has been warned the gig ‘could be seen as a conflict of interest and will be kept in mind for future editorial decisions.’
The 45-year-old is the latest in a slew of stars at the corporation including Huw Edwards, Greg James, Mishal Hussain and Jon Sopel, who have topped up their hefty salaries with payouts from oil companies, banks and car giants.
Mr Dimbleby did also not pull his punches when it came to speaking about Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The veteran broadcaster said: ‘I am very dismayed by the Johnson attacks on the institution. I think they are crowd-pleasing. I think they are quite dangerous. I don’t think they will work.’
‘Margaret Thatcher always had it in for the BBC but she wasn’t trying to destroy it… A lot of people who support Johnson also quite like the BBC. I don’t know what is going on in his mind. I think it’s quite frightening.’
It comes amid reports that Downing Street is looking to axe the TV licence fee and instead fund the BBC through viewer subscriptions
Turning his attentions to the Prime Minister’s chief aide Dominic Cummings, he said: ‘All prime ministers have had gurus, but I find this Cummings thing deeply offensive… that whole business about Barnard Castle was really offensive.’
‘There is something obnoxious about him,’ he added. ‘He’s like a machine gun. Remember the Battle of Omdurman.
‘The army just massacred a whole row of people on top of the hill and you feel like that at the moment.
‘It’s not that easy to dismantle things, shrinking the BBC, getting rid of all the senior people in the civil service, attacking the judiciary.
‘It is the Bash Street Kids but to what end?’
His claims come after Downing Street signalled a new onslaught on the BBC with a threat to scrap the television licence fee and turn it into a subscription service.
The 81-year-old also described the Prime Minister’s chief aide Dominic Cummings as ‘a machine gun’ prepared to ‘massacre’ British institutions
Mr Dimbleby said: ‘All prime ministers have had gurus, but I find this Cummings thing deeply offensive…that whole business about Barnard Castle was really offensive’
A senior source said the broadcaster could be forced to sell off most of its radio stations in a ‘massive pruning back’ of its activities.
The source told The Sunday Times that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ‘really strident’ on the need for serious reform.
The paper said that the number of BBC television channels could also be reduced, the website scaled back and stars banned from cashing in on well-paid second jobs.
The attack will be seen as a further escalation of the hostilities between No 10 and the corporation, with many Tories still angry at its coverage of last year’s general election.
The Government is already consulting on proposals to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee, and ministers have suggested it could be abolished altogether when the BBC’s charter comes up for renewal in 2027.