CHANNEL 4 has taken a swipe at a UK stuck in limbo with a tweet congratulating the BBC on its 100th anniversary.
The corporation has been celebrating a century of broadcasting after it was founded in 1922 under its original name, The British Broadcasting Company.
A new 50p coin commemorating the occasion has also been created by the Royal Mint, featuring an image of the late Queen as they were produced before her death in September.
Marking the event on social media, Channel 4 took a sideways shot at the UK’s lack of progress.
“Happy Birthday @BBC on your 100th birthday!” Channel 4 wrote.
“When you were founded we had a King, no one knew if they could afford to put their heating on and we'd just lived through a global pandemic. Times really do change!”
🎉Happy Birthday @BBC on your 100th birthday! When you were founded we had a King, no one knew if they could afford to put their heating on and we'd just lived through a global pandemic. Times really do change!
— Channel 4 (@Channel4) October 18, 2022
The tweet garnered widespread praise on social media, with users branding it a "masterpiece". "Channel 4, you didn’t need to go that hard," one wrote.
Liz Truss’s Tory government has been forced into a humiliating U-turn on pledges to protect UK households from skyrocketing energy bills, with new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt scaling back any help to just six months.
The Tories have further been unable to say that they will not scrap the triple lock on pensions, despite a manifesto promise not to do so.
Conservatives have been installed in top positions at the BBC in recent years.
BBC chairman Richard Sharp got the job in February 2021 after having donated a total of more than £400,000 to the Tories.
Robbie Gibb, the former No10 director of communications who was described as an “active agent” of the Tory Party by former BBC host Emily Maitlis, was put onto the corporation’s board in 2021.
Tim Davie, who previously ran for the Tories in a local election, was made the director-general of the BBC in 2020.
Commenting on the anniversary, Sharp said: “The BBC is one hundred today – it’s a time to celebrate, but also to embrace the future.
“I believe its best days are ahead. We have always innovated, changed and adapted. Our path has always been guided by the needs of audiences. We are just as mindful of that today as we have always been. By continuing to put the public first, we will continue to inform, educate and entertain for another century.”
Channel 4, which is publicly owned like the BBC but not publicly funded, was founded in 1982.
It faced privatisation under the Tory government run by Boris Johnson, but Truss's administration has said it will look at the business case before committing to continuing with that policy.
