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So far, only one political leader is prepared to mount an outspoken defence of the BBC
Amid serious concerns over the editorial mistakes made by the BBC, the downfall of its leaders has been greeted with undisguised glee by many on the right of British politics.
Former prime minister Liz Truss was quick off the mark to retweet gloating posts from Donald Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with clapping emojis. Ms Truss argued not just for the abolition of the licence fee, but for the end of nationalised broadcasting altogether.
Her former cabinet colleague Suella Braverman has also called for the licence fee to be scrapped. It's an idea long advocated by Nadine Dorries during her time as culture secretary.
The recent Reform convert is particularly pessimistic about the BBC's future - telling me she believes its "core bias" has worsened in recent years. "I'm afraid the resignation of Tim Davie will change nothing," she said.
"Under this Labour government overseeing the new appointment... it will probably get worse." All three politicians were close allies of Boris Johnson, who has been instrumental this week in piling the pressure on the BBC.
He dramatically threatened in the Daily Mail to boycott the licence fee until Tim Davie explained what happened with the Trump Panorama documentary - or resigned. The official Conservative Party line is slightly more restrained.
Shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston told Sky News "we want them to be successful" - but he and his boss Kemi Badenoch are calling for wide-ranging editorial reforms to end what they describe as "institutional bias". Their list calls for changes to BBC Arabic, its coverage of the US and Middle East, and "basic matters of biology.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
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