Best of the Spectator LIVE: Should we defund or defend the BBC? | Michael Gove & Jon Sopel v Charles Moore & Allison Pearson
Apr 4, 2026
Michael Gove, Conservative politician and Spectator editor; Jon Sopel, veteran BBC correspondent turned podcaster; Allison Pearson, columnist and author; Charles Moore, Conservative peer and longtime BBC critic. They spar over whether the BBC is a vital cultural public service or institutionally biased and out of touch. Heated debates cover impartiality, licence-fee funding, cultural value, trust and the corporation’s global soft power.
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Impartiality Is The Licence Fee's Moral Basis
- Charles Moore argued impartiality is the core justification for compulsory BBC funding and that it has been broken across multiple issues.
- He cited Brexit, trans issues, Gaza and examples like the Nigel Farage debanking story to claim bias is systemic and harms public understanding.
World Service Opens Doors In Conflict Zones
- Jon Sopel described Afghan towns where people ran up to BBC reporters and spoke English because they'd heard the World Service on the radio.
- He used the story of Talakan after 9/11 to show the BBC's global soft power reaching audiences with no electricity or running water.
BBC As Creative Industries Training Ground
- Jon Sopel highlighted the BBC as an apprenticeship hub for the creative industries, supplying trained crews and technicians for dramas like Slow Horses.
- He described the BBC's role in training lighting, sound, camera and makeup staff who then sustain UK productions.