Claims were made on Sunday that No 10 may be preparing a new onslaught on the BBC with a threat to scrap the television licence fee and turn it into a subscription service. The [Murdoch owned] Sunday Times quoted a senior source as saying that the broadcaster could be forced to sell off most of its radio stations in a “massive pruning back” of its activities. “They should have a few TV stations, a couple of radio stations and massively curtailed online presence and put more money and effort into the World Service which is part of its core job. The PM is firmly of the view that there needs to be serious reform. He is really strident on this.”