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Rees-Mogg calls for license fee to be scrapped because forgetful women ‘don’t remember to pay it’

Jacob Rees-Mogg has called for an end to the license fee.

Taking a stand on his new GB News show, the Tory MP argued for the £159-a-year charge to be scrapped because forgetful women “don’t remember” to pay it.

Several right-wingers have hit out at the BBC following its embarrassing climbdown over the Gary Lineker saga.

Jonathan Gullis even went as far as accusing the Match of the Day presenter of calling northerners “racist bigots” and “Nazis”, much to the presenter’s chagrin.

Addressing the issue on GB News, Rees-Mogg argued the Beeb should no longer be paid for by the public, as it has for years.

“Then no one would mind because it wouldn’t be paid for by poll tax,” he said. “And they wouldn’t be prosecuting primarily women who don’t always remember to pay this poll tax.

“This is a real challenge for the BBC. We don’t need it as a state-funded broadcaster.”

Women made up 76 per cent of the 52,376 people convicted for TV licence evasion in 2020.

But an official report into the gender disparity found it was because of reasons including women being more likely to be at home to answer the door to enforcement officers.

There was no suggestion it was because women are forgetful.

Related: Leaked emails and WhatsApp messages show BBC reporters being told to be more critical of Labour

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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