Ian Botham calls for pledge on TV licences for over-75s

Lord Botham has called for a pledge that no over-75s will be prosecuted for failing to pay the TV licence fee.

The right to a free TV licence for the elderly ended last year for all except those in receipt of pension credit.

In a letter to BBC director general Tim Davie, the ex-cricketer said the issue was "undermining" the "goodwill" many people feel towards the broadcaster.

He now sits in the House of Lords and used a separate letter to call on his fellow peers to support his request.

The 65-year-old told them he was motivated to act after seeing reports of the "horrific way" in which over-75s had been pursued for the licence fee.

"In my view, this is institutional bullying on a massive scale and there seems to be some kind of blame game between the BBC and government," he wrote. "I'm no politician but this feels like a real scandal affecting the very frail that needs sorting out."

More than three million over-75s lost their entitlement to free TV licences last summer. And last month, the government said it had decided not to decriminalise non-payment of the £157.50 licence fee for the time being.

A spokeswoman for TV Licensing, the body that collects licence fees, said: "We have implemented these changes with the greatest care and have worked to make the process as fair and straightforward as possible."

They said the vast majority of applications had been dealt with "without an issue", and that the organisation had let people know the "simple steps" for payment and was giving people "plenty of time".

The BBC said it would reply to Lord Botham's letter.

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