This isn’t an attack on the BBC, the Culture Secretary has insisted, as she suggested the television licence fee could come to an end.

Launching a consultation about decriminalising the failure to pay the licence, Baroness Morgan said “we must all be open minded” about its future after the current charter comes to an end in seven years’ time.

Most of the BBC’s £3.7 billion annual income comes from the licence fee, but should the corporation be made to adapt to the changing way people view TV?

BBC licence fee non-payment could be decriminalised