London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 08, 2026

‘Defund the BBC’ campaign SAVAGES Gary Lineker in anti-licence fee billboard campaign

‘Defund the BBC’ campaign SAVAGES Gary Lineker in anti-licence fee billboard campaign

A new campaign calling for the BBC licence fee to be scrapped is hoping to put billboards up across Britain to spread its message.

The group, Defund the BBC, argues the corporation is intrinsically politically biased and the public should only have to pay for its content if they want to. The first billboard, situated in south-east London, has already been erected.

It depicts BBC presenters Gary Lineker and Emily Maitlis along with what the group claims is their salaries and the question “Are You Still Paying?”

Defund the BBC is financing the campaign via a Go Fund Me page which has already raised more than £35,000.

It hopes to use this money to finance more billboards across other parts of the UK.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, a spokesman for Defund the BBC said: “The billboard is just the first in a series, we hope, as we appeal for funds via a Go Fund Me page.

“It is pokes fun at the presenters, but also delivers a serious message, that some BBC staff are paid vast sums of cash taken from hard working Brits against their will.

"Anyone who believes the BBC is wrong to effectively impose a tax on the elderly, as they have done recently, or thinks the BBC is not representative of them or the nation should give to our campaign.”

Currently, in order to watch or record live television in the UK, you must pay for a licence which costs £157.50 per household if you have a colour TV.

This money is used to fund the BBC, the world’s oldest national broadcaster, which in return is supposed to provide informative and politically neutral content.

People caught watching TV without a licence can be fined up to £1,000 as well as court costs, and can face prison if they fail to pay.

However Defund the BBC argues the corporation has failed to be consistently politically neutral.

Its spokesman said: “As many Express readers will know, the BBC has long been perceived as biased and anti-Brexit and it is wrong that they threaten Brits with jail for not funding them.

“The BBC should support itself, fairly, through ads or a subscription like other media organisations.

"Disapproval of the BBC is growing and we aim to seize the moment and push for the government to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee by the end of the year.

"We are also developing informative material so people can legally avoid paying the licence fee.

“Currently, BBC guidelines are deliberately confusing, tricking some people into giving them cash."

On the Defund the BBC Go Fund Me page supporters of the corporation explained why they had donated money.

One commented: “The BBC is for the few and I’m not included.”

Another added: “The BBC has become an organisation run by a minority who hold in absolute contempt the majority who are forced by law to fund it.”

The BBC argues it continues to provide politically neutral and un-bias coverage.

Shortly after the 2019 General Election Lord Hall, the BBC’s Director General, defended the corporation in an article for the Daily Telegraph.

He wrote: “Around 27 million people in the UK came to the BBC website to find out about the election results.

“It was a reminder of the trust people place in the BBC.

“But the fact criticism came from all sides of the political divide shows to me that we were doing our job without fear or favour.”

Comments

ste 127 days ago
this should of been defended decades ago! it has been the mouth peace for the Nazi.. sorry I mean EU project since heaths time and constantly give false and inaccurate information to push the governments rhetoric. I have not paid for 14 years and will never pay! I do not listen to their programing watch any live TV. Unfortunately its allowed to carry on by those who are caught up in its insidious lies.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Australian Crew Evacuates Seriously Ill American From Antarctica in Midwinter Darkness
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Welsh First Minister Raises Independence With UK Prime Minister in First High-Level Call
UK Maintains Severe Terror Threat Level as Prevent Report Highlights Online Radicalization
YouGov Poll Shows Labour Favourability Improves as Reform UK and Greens Lose Ground
Brexit Campaigner Arron Banks Admits Hiring Private Investigator to Examine Journalist
Robert Jenrick Leaves Conservatives for Reform UK in Major Parliamentary Defection
July 2026 Was England and Wales’ Driest Month on Record, Met Office Says
UK Government Considers Public Inquiry Into Jeffrey Epstein’s UK Connections
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
UK Drought Cuts Harvests and Raises Food-Security Fears
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
US Health Secretary: “I’m Not Afraid of Germs — I Used to Snort Cocaine Off Toilet Seats”
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Trump Keeps Hegseth at Pentagon While Leaving Door Open for DeSantis
UK Clears Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery Deal, but US Trial Looms
UK Prosecutors Add 38 Charges Against Andrew and Tristan Tate
Taiwan’s President Joins Wartime Command Drill as China Pressure Grows
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
Government Orders Review of Prison Release Rules After Concerns Over Grooming Gang Offenders
Rail Disruption Continues Across North-West England Amid Infrastructure Problems and Engineering Closures
UK Tax Authority Proposes Broad Changes to Rules Governing Company Distributions
UK Government Moves to Protect Standing Areas Outside Pubs From Local Restrictions
Extreme Right-Wing Referrals Under UK Prevent Programme Rise 42 Percent
EU Citizens in UK Warned That Some Residency Rights May Have Been Granted in Error
Every Monitored Body of Water in England Fails Chemical Purity Standards, Government Data Shows
UK Scientists Create First Artificial Intelligence-Designed Viruses
England Orders Primary Schools to Identify Children at Risk of Becoming Disengaged From Education or Work
Government Moves to Close Prison Release Loophole Amid Concern Over Grooming Gang Offenders
UK Economy Shows Modest Growth Despite Energy Volatility and Global Supply Pressures
Police and Prosecutors Failed to Stop Sex Offender Who Later Murdered Two Women, Review Finds
Millions in England Face Longer Mental Health Waiting Times as NHS Providers Cut Spending
Met Office Warns of Heatwave as Temperatures Across England and Wales Could Reach 36 Degrees Celsius
HMRC’s 2029 Tax Shift Could Overlap Old and New Self-Assessment Bills
Thetford Disorder Prompts Expanded Police Powers Amid Asylum-Housing Protests
Cambridge Faces Calls for Independent Review of Jason Arday Appointment
Scotland’s ‘Cock of the North’ Woodland Is Being Felled After Wind Damage
Reform UK and Greens Unite Against Vast Solar Plans for Kent Marshland
New Zealand Draws Wealthy Americans With Revamped Investor Visa
Senate Panel Votes to Hold Anthony Fauci in Contempt After Fifth Amendment Testimony
Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Resigns as University Opens Inquiry Into His Credentials
Manchester Power Failure Disrupts Trains Across North West Into Friday
UK Fashion and Tourism Sectors Prepare for Strong Summer and Autumn Activity
London Residents Seek Appeal Against Approval for Chinese Super-Embassy Development
UK Environment Officials Issue Biosecurity Alert Over Rising Bluetongue Cases in Livestock
UK Charity Regulator Opens Investigations Into Donations Linked to Israeli Settlements
Gatwick Expansion and Chinese Embassy Plans Highlight Growing UK Infrastructure Disputes
UK Agriculture Authorities Warn of Rising Bluetongue Virus Cases Among Sheep Farms
×