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Top broadcaster David Dimbleby says the has strayed ‘a bit’ on its reporting of topics such as immigration, as he today waded into the ongoing licence fee row by suggesting the TV levy should be linked to council tax.

The former Question Time host, 83, said the national broadcaster had become more unpopular ‘the further north you go’ and that it must do more to keep in ‘lockstep’ with public opinion in Britain.

Asked if there were any particular issues where the BBC had missed public opinion the highly respected journalist said: ‘Immigration for instance. 

‘Over the years the BBC has not been strong on looking at the reasons that people in some parts of Britain were uneasy about the scale of immigration.’ 

In a wide-ranging interview about the future of the BBC on Radio 4’s World at One programme, Mr Dimbleby also discussed his opinions on the licence fee. 

BBC funding has been a hot topic of debate in recent days following the announcement that it would be frozen at £159 over the next two years – after which it will rise in line with inflation for the following four years.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is also reported to have said the BBC’s funding review ‘would be the last’, indicating that there could be a different funding model put in place for the BBC after 2028.

Mr Dimbleby, giving his own thoughts on the licence fee, described the current flat rate as unfair. But he urged ministers to keep the current publicly funded system, instead of switching to a Netflix-style subscription fee.

‘The licence fee is something that I absolutely believe in; I don’t think you can have public service broadcasting without paying for it through the public purse in that way,’ he said. 

‘But what I do think is the BBC should acknowledge that £159 paid by the poorest as well the richest is just unfair, it’s inequitable.

‘And there’s a simple way in which the BBC can get on the front foot, which is by suggesting the licence fee figure, the gross figure of £159, should not be paid flat rate by everybody but the richest should pay more and the poorest less.

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