AN MP defended the BBC as preferable to having media monopolies who will not maintain public service broadcasting values during a speech in Parliament.

Sir Peter Bottomley, MP for Worthing West, said he was "not impressed" by the announcement that the licence fee will be frozen for two years, and asked why it is the "one thing" that cannot be increased due to the cost of living crisis.

He said: "Other things that are government-run are linked to RPI or CPI - it seems to be it would be better to have a discussion in this House about whether we should have a moderated increase."

Sir Peter, the longest-serving MP in the House of Commons, also questioned what alternative funding models being discussed for the BBC are, after culture secretary Nadine Dorries suggested that the licence fee could be scrapped when it comes up for renewal at the end of 2027.

He warned that an end of state support for broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4 could result in a media landscape similar to the United States, with several media monopolies.

"Public broadcasting from the BBC and Channel 4 is better, in my view, than have everything go to some of the big media people around the world who won't maintain the kind of BBC that we've had for the last 100 years."

Ms Dorries replied: "The decision as to what the future funding model looks like is for discussion. Some of us may not even be here by the time 2028 arrives."

She said that the freeze to the licence fee was necessary to help households through "difficult times" and said: "When it comes to monthly bills, this is one of the few direct levers that we have in our control as a government."

However, shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell slammed the move and said the government was using the announcement as a "distraction" from the Prime Minister's "disintegrating leadership", as he faces calls to resign over allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street.

In a joint statement, BBC chairman Richard Sharp and director-general Tim Davie said that the freeze will mean that the broadcaster will have to absorb the cost of inflation.

They said: "The BBC's income for UK services is already 30 per cent lower in real terms than it was ten years ago.

"It will necessitate tougher choices which will impact licence fee payers.

"The BBC is owned by the public and their voice must always be the loudest when it comes to determining the BBC's future."

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