Dominic Cummings thinktank called for 'end of BBC in current form'

New Frontiers Foundation said in 2004 the BBC was ‘mortal enemy’ of Tory party

Rowena Mason Deputy political editor
Tue 21 Jan 2020 19.46 GMT
Last modified on Tue 21 Jan 2020 23.26 GMT

Dominic Cummings’s thinktank called for the “end of the BBC in its current form” and suggested rightwingers should work to undermine the credibility of the broadcaster, branding it the “mortal enemy” of the Conservative party.

Cummings, who is Boris Johnson’s most powerful adviser, was the director of the New Frontiers Foundation when it called in 2004 for a campaign to target the BBC and the creation of a Fox News equivalent that would not be constrained by impartiality rules.

Opposition MPs said on Tuesday that the views of Cummings’s thinktank would fuel suspicions that Johnson’s administration is gearing up to overhaul the BBC.

The disclosure comes at a sensitive time for the corporation, whose director general. Tony Hall, announced on Monday he was standing down. Several Tories have since called for an end to the licence fee, while Labour figures have warned that the BBC is facing a dangerous moment as it approaches its 100th anniversary.

The thinktank also suggested an end to the ban on TV political advertising to allow politicians to speak directly to the public in ad breaks during Coronation Street, for example, and the “development of the web networks scrutinising the BBC and providing information to commercial rivals with an interest in undermining the BBC’s credibility”.

-snip-