SIR – Beware, we now live in an oligarchy comprising Boris Johnson, and a few unelected principals.

The Prime Minister has an aversion to the BBC. He avoids being questioned on radio and television, and has stopped cabinet members from appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme.

The PM has announced an attack on the BBC to be led by John Whittingdale, Minister of State in the culture department.

Carrie Symonds, Johnson’s girlfriend, used to be Whittingdale’s special adviser. Dominic Cummings, the PM’s senior adviser, and string puller, once headed the New Frontiers Foundation, a think-tank which strongly advocated ending the BBC’s status.

The BBC licence fee is to be replaced with a subscription, a dubious move towards outright commercialism, and not in the interest of public service.

The BBC has funded and supported British culture and creativity more than any other patron, state or private. The licence fee supports a wide range of documentary makers, dramas, writers, reporters, commentators, and much more. It gives BBC producers the freedom to discover talent, take chances, and extend boundaries in every field imaginable.

Great sporting, royal and state events enjoy the universality of the BBC. And what about the millions raised for Children In Need and the like?

No other broadcaster in the world offers so much variety or has raised the level of knowledge in the population generally.

The BBC’s best programmes are world class, adhere to the highest standards in their genres, and over decades have been much emulated.

Peter Smith

Malvern