Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has confirmed the Tories' snap plan to abolish the Licence Fee in what was branded a "pathetic" attack on the BBC's journalism.
Anger has been growing after the minister revealed controversial news the levy would be frozen at £159 until April 2024 - despite spiralling inflation - and could be abolished by 2027, in a tweet on Sunday.
Now, the minister has confirmed the real terms cut to the payment over the next two years - worth around £3.2 billion to the BBC - in the Commons.
She also said the Licence Fee model will be subject to a consultation and review before 2027 - signalling it could be scrapped altogether after that date.
Ms Dorries also faced a barrage of claims the announcement was rushed out to "pick fights" with a "great British institution" to distract from the 'partygate' row engulfing Boris Johnson after rule-busting bashes at Downing Street.
The consultation on the future funding model could explore a range of options, including subscription fees and advertising.
She said: “ The BBC is a great national institution with a unique place in our cultural heritage. It broadcasts British values and identities all over the world and reaches hundreds of millions of people every day.
“But at a time when families are facing a sharp increase in their living costs we simply could not justify asking hard-working households to pay even more for their TV licence.
“This is a fair settlement for the BBC and for licence fee payers. The BBC must support people at a time when their finances are strained, make savings and efficiencies, and use the billions in public funding it receives to deliver for viewers, listeners and users.”
Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said the Government had a "vendetta" against the BBC over its reporting of the drinking culture at No10 during lockdown.
“The Government’s decision on the future of the BBC makes it look like a 'tin-pot dictatorship'," she said.
“The impartiality of the BBC is crucial to trust in it. By explicitly linking the charter renewal to the BBC’s editorial decisions, the Government sounds more like a tin-pot dictatorship than a healthy democracy.”
Ms Dorries replied: “It is nobody’s intention to destroy the BBC. I completely agree with her, it is a beacon. But the BBC licence fee is not a small amount of money.
“It is also regressive. Whether you are getting by on the minimum wage or on a multimillion presenter’s salary, you cannot pay the same amount of money. That is not right."
Tory MPs also hit out at the move, which comes as a poll by Grassroots Conservatives said 40% wanted Boris Johnson to resign over rule-breaking.
Conservative MP Julian Knight, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: the BBC "plays a fundamental role in our culture and demonstrates the richness of this country’s broadcasting landscape".
He added: “In order to preserve this institution for audiences, it is critical that the Government provides clarity on how future funding will be provided, given the current levels of broadband coverage which cast doubt on the success of a subscription model.
“An alternative source of funding must deliver the stability necessary to enable the corporation to compete effectively on a global stage.”
Meanwhile, BBC bosses have pledged to “continue to make a strong case to the Government for investing” in the corporation after the licence fee came under fire.
The BBC said in a statement that the news about the fee settlement was "disappointing".
"Given the breadth of services we provide, the Licence Fee represents excellent value for money," a spokesman said. "There are very good reasons for investing in what the BBC can do for the British public and the UK around the world.
"A freeze in the first two years of this settlement means the BBC will now have to absorb inflation. That is disappointing - not just for Licence Fee payers, but also for the cultural industries that rely on the BBC for the important work they do across the UK.
"The BBC’s income for UK services is already 30 percent lower in real terms than it was 10 years ago. We will set out the implications of the settlement later, before the end of the financial year, but it will necessitate tougher choices which will impact Licence Fee payers."
