Bias claim man fined over licence

Mr Kelly accused the BBC of not meeting its Royal Charter obligations

A pensioner who accuses the BBC of bias has been fined for refusing to pay his television licence fee for more than six years.

Retired engineer John Kelly, 70, from Exmouth, Devon, pleaded guilty at Exeter Magistrates' Court.

He has withheld payment since 2002, accusing the BBC of being pro-European.

Magistrate David Youngs told Kelly: "We are here to uphold the law of the land. If you have a TV you have to have a TV licence." He was fined a total of £315.

Representing himself, Kelly told the court the BBC breached its Royal Charter obligation of impartiality on the issue of the EU.

'Ominous parallels'

He said there was a "mountain of evidence" against the BBC, including an apology in 2007 for not including the UKIP party in its coverage of the Lisbon Treaty.

After reading about half of a prepared statement, Kelly was told by the three magistrates to "leave it there".

The other half of his statement was said to be about "bias and incompetence" within the BBC complaints procedure and the TV Licensing Authority.

Kelly said there were "ominous parallels" in the UK with Russian dissident Vladamir Bukovsky who had spent 12 years in a gulag for challenging the authoritarian state.

Anyone refusing to pay the licence fee faces a fine of up to £1,000

He told the court: "I like the BBC, I have no wish to avoid paying the licence fee and would wish to to continue - provided the BBC adheres to its side of the bargain, which at present it does not."

Kelly said the future licence fee would be deposited "in escrow" [with a third party] with his solicitor, who would hold on to the money until the BBC "obeys the law and the Royal Charter".

Afterwards Kelly, who had banner waving supporters outside the court, said: "The magistrates cut me off in my prime - I was only half way through my 1,620 word statement."

The Television Licensing Authortiy said anyone watching or recording TV programmes without a valid licence risked prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.