Harriet Harman MP, Labour’s Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, responding to briefing ahead of Sajid Javid’s speech to the Royal Television Society, said:

“The BBC is an institution of enormous importance. It is loved in this country and admired around the world. We need to ensure independent funding for the BBC. But no one wants people to go to prison for non-payment of their TV licence fee. 

“We supported the amendments to take the power to decriminalise non-payment, but only on condition that no action is taken until we have the results of a comprehensive, evidence-based review. We have to be sure that we do not do anything which will undermine the funding of the BBC. And the findings of the review need to be considered alongside the wider considerations in Charter Renewal. 

“We now want to see comprehensive draft Terms of Reference, for the review and who will be heading it, so that this can be considered in Parliament when the relevant clauses of the Deregulation Bill come to be decided on it in the Lords.”