BBC chief attacks 'middle-class moaners'

BBC Chairman Gavyn Davies was condemned today for an "illiterate, absurd" attack on Middle Englanders he says are trying to hijack the Corporation.

He told media executives and government ministers. at the Westminster Media Forum that many of these critics simply wanted more services aimed at people like themselves.

He said that a vocal group of Middle Englanders was repeatedly accusing the BBC of dumbing down in order to influence its agenda.

"They tend to be southern, white, middle-class, middle-aged and well-educated. Strangely enough they are already the type of people who consume a disproportionate amount of the BBC's services - people who get more out of the licence fee than they put into it," he said.

The Labour supporter concluded: "In some cases the criticism of dumbing down is simply a respectable way of trying to hijack even more of the BBC's services for themselves."

His comments came after both Charles Clarke, the Labour Party chairman, and David Davis, the Conservative Party chairman, wrote to him warning the BBC not to dumb down its political coverage - the BBC is considering the abandonment of party political conferences and parliamentary debates after young viewers branded them boring.

A report produced three years ago into the Corporation's funding also accused the BBC of dumbing down. Ironically its author was one Gavyn Davies, in the days before he became Chairman.

Mr Davies's change of tack did not endear him to his audience. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said the Corporation should expand its audience by making quality programmes rather than compete for ratings with commercial broadcasters. She announced she was not ready to approve the new entertainment digital channel BBC3 because it could undermine commercial channels already providing a similar service.

Author Sir John Mortimer, who has warned the BBC against dumbing down, said of Mr Davies's Middle Englander attack: "It is a totally incomprehensible, illiterate and generally absurd statement. Does he mean those white middle-class people do not count?

"You can after all be northern and not middle-class but well-educated. What is sad is, if you think of the BBC chairmen of the past, people of huge stature, and now you have a man saying that kind of thing."

Tim Yeo, the shadow culture secretary, said: "Someone has to speak up for the large and respectable group of Middle England citizens who are entitled to have their needs catered for by the BBC. We in the audience were taken aback when he launched into this tirade."

Martin Bell, former BBC war correspondent and ex-MP, said: "Dumbing down is there for all to see. They are just trying to justify it. It is worst on the news at 6pm which is almost indistinguishable from Neighbours which precedes it."

Jocelyn Hay, chairwoman of the consumer group Voice of the Listener and the Viewer said: "Quality is appreciated by everybody, no matter where they come from, what their colour is or how much they earn. It's rather patronising to suggest otherwise."