Britain freezes BBC funding as reviews TV licence fee future

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk past a BBC logo at Broadcasting House in London, Britain, January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will freeze funding for the BBC for two years and debate whether a universal licence fee should continue, the government said on Monday, sparking accusations of "cultural vandalism".

While the government did not want to "destroy" the 100-year-old British "beacon", Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told parliament that it could not receive more money at a time when households were being hit by rising taxes and energy bills.