John Simpson 'pessimistic about BBC'

BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson has said that he is "very pessimistic" about the corporation's future due to the "endless attacks" over its funding situation.

Simpson said that critics of the BBC, including culture secretary Ben Bradshaw and Conservative shadow Jeremy Hunt, are like "mechanics going into a Rolls-Royce garage with a spanner and starting to lay about the bodywork".

Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Simpson said that the future viability of the corporation could be diminished if its funding is cut.

"I'm very pessimistic about the future of the BBC. This is something I really disagree about with [BBC director general] Mark Thompson. When I saw him recently we argued it out," he said.

"He's very upbeat about the future of the BBC, not just for public consumption but also in private, but I'm not because I think it's an anomaly in today's world and the licence fee is under such an intense amount of pressure."

Simpson expressed his belief that licence fee payers do not understand what a "huge voice" the BBC gives Britain around the world, which leads to misunderstandings about its value.

"That lays it open to endless attacks, usually on this ideological basis that it's a tax, plus all the usual nonsense about how it's left wing, or indeed right wing if you listen to other voices," he said.

"It all seems quite childish to me, but nevertheless those voices are louder than they've ever been in my life, and I've watched these things for 44 years."

Thompson has continually defended the corporation's need to derive its core funding from the licence fee, which will increase by 2% on April 1 to £142.50.

However, he recently laid out planned changes to reduce the corporation's size and reach into the commercial market.

Thompson's strategy review, which included proposals for the controversial closure of digital stations 6 Music and the Asian Network, along with a halving of the BBC's webpages, is currently under 12-week public consultation at the BBC Trust.