The BBC could close TV channels and move shows to YouTube as the new director-general warned staff that “tough choices are unavoidable” in order to make £500m in savings.
Arriving at Broadcasting House at 8.15am on Monday, former Google Europe boss Matt Brittin pressed “send” on an email to staff explaining that the BBC must move with “urgency” to reinvent itself in a world of “limitless choice”.
Brittin raised the prospect of cutting back the BBC’s sprawling platforms and services to its essentials. “We should ask ourselves, honestly: if we were inventing the BBC today, what would we do?” the former Team GB Olympic rower asked. “Then respond with clarity, pace and purpose.”
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POLITICS
Who are the Labour figures who want to replace Starmer?
said to be privately considering whether he will contest challenges to his leadership, despite having publicly insisted he will fight them.
Labour appears to be heading towards a leadership contest, after disastrous local election results led to almost 100 Labour MPs calling for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down.
Wes Streeting has said he will stand in any contest. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has also made clear he wants to be prime minister – if he can win a crucial by-election.
The frontrunners
Andy Burnham carries hopes of many on the left, as polling shows he is the favourite with the public. He is hoping to win a seat through the Makerfield by-election.
Wes Streeting is viewed by many as a “Blairite” representing the Labour right. He told Starmer he had “lost confidence” in his leadership.
OPINION
5 min read
Who else might run?
Angela Rayner says the party needs to reconnect with younger voters (Photo: Carl Court/Getty)
Angela Rayner
The former deputy Labour leader is thought to be supportive of Burnham – but may still decide to stand and appeal to the left.
Ed Miliband
The Energy Secretary is also keen on Burnham. But if his ally cannot take part in the contest, Miliband may decide to take on Streeting.
Caption: Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband reacts to a heckler at the Fabian Society 2026 New Year Conference at the Guildhall, central London. Picture date: Saturday January 24, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire
Photographer: James Manning
Provider: James Manning/PA Wire
Source: PA
Shabana Mahmood has embarked on a radical overhaul of the UK’s immigration system (Photo: Kin Cheung/AP)
Other ministers
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Armed Forces minister Al Carns may also decide to run.
How would a contest work?
A Labour leadership contest would be triggered if one MP gets backing from 81 MPs.
Other candidates can join if they have 81 backers.
Keir Starmer can decide to contest the leadership election, and does not need 81 MPs to do so. But he could decide to stand down.
Labour members and affiliated unions then vote by ranking candidates in order of preference.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) decides on the timetable.
More from The i Paper on Labour
The average British retiree falls short of moderate lifestyle
The typical pensioner in the UK does not have enough income to live comfortably, new research has found.
‘As a private renter now working part time, I am in a precarious situation and may have to rely on savings,’ says a reader (Photo: Alex Tihonov/Getty)
What does average pensioner live on?
£26,200
This is how much the average tax-paying pensioner between 65 and 69 lives on.
This is according to an analysis of 2024 HMRC figures by AJ Bell.
£22,700
This is how much the average tax-paying pensioner between 70 and 74 lives on.
This is according to an analysis of 2024 HMRC figures by AJ Bell.
What you need for moderate lifestyle
An individual pensioner needs £31,300 a year for a moderate standard of living, according to Retirement Living Standards research by Loughborough University.
Some state pensioners will have their income protected from tax (Andrii Yalanskyi / 500px/Getty)
The man is currently drawing a small defined benefit (DB) pension (Photo: SimpleImages/Getty)
A pensioner couple need £43,100 a year to live to a moderate standard, the Retirement Living Standards research discovered.
The good news and bad news
Average pensioner incomes fall “well short” of what the average Brit is hoping for, said Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell.
Women are even more stretched than men in retirement. Women aged 65 to 69 received an average of £23,000, while men received £29,600.
However, the standards are a “fairly blunt instrument”, said Coles, because they don’t take into account the income you are used to while you’re working.
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The Parliamentary Standards watchdog has launched a probe into the £5m ‘gift’ from businessman Christopher Harborne to Nigel Farage in 2024. A Reform UK spokesman said: “Mr Farage’s office is in communications with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken. We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all.” nigelfarage reformuk ukpolitics
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London, UK – April 15 2025. General view of Broadcasting House, the BBC headquarters in central London, with people walking outside.
Photographer: VV Shots
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStock Editorial
MEDIA NEWS
The new BBC plan to axe channels and avoid scandal
The corporation could close TV channels and move shows to YouTube as it tries to save £500m and cut up to 2,000 jobs.
The new director-general, Matt Brittin, has warned staff in an email that “tough choices are unavoidable”.
Which channels could go?
The bew BBC director general, Matt Brittin, will formally begin his role on 18 May (Photo: BBC/PA)
Brittin decides
Insiders predicted that the new director-general would look at the case for closing the BBC’s entire channels.
BBC Three in doubt?
Roger Mosey, ex-head of BBC TV News, said BBC Two and BBC Four could merge, while BBC Three could be “finally laid to rest”.
Caption: Programme Name: Fleabag – TX: n/a – Episode: n/a (No. n/a) – Picture Shows: Fleabag (PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE) – (C) Two Brothers Pictures Ltd. – Photographer: Screengrab
Photographer: Screengrab
Provider: BBC/Two Brothers Pictures Ltd.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock in the 2010s BBC version (Photo: Robert Viglasky/BBC/Hartswood Films)
Daytime shows
Mosey also suggested that the BBC could drop “filler” daytime programmes in favour of high-impact drama.
How BBC will avoid scandals
Former BBC Director General Tim Davie arrives at Broadcasting House on November 11, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Brittin will protect “editorial excellence” to avoid errors like Panorama’s misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech.
The scandal led to the resignation of Tim Davie, pictured above.
Brittin will also appoint a deputy director-general with news experience to get ahead of future scandals.
Analysis
3 min read
A reinvented licence fee?
The BBC is keen to extend the base of people required to pay the licence fee – possibly including those who watch streaming platforms.
Brittin has yet to publicly state his personal preference on how to reinvent the charge imposed on TV viewers.
But the former Google boss has already met Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to push the case for reform.
More from The i Paper on the BBC
New BBC director general Matt Brittin has told BBC staff that “tough choices are unavoidable” on his first day in the job. The former Google Europe boss has taken on the role during a tumultous period at the broadcaster, despite having no previous TV production or planning experience. This is everything he has to do deal with from the outset. #UK #news
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Caption: A vehicle’s hatch and doors are opened near where a body of one of the shooters was placed near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photographer: Gregory Bull
Provider: AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Source: AP
world news
Teen suspects fatally shoot three in suspected hate crime at San Diego mosque
Two teenage attackers fatally shot three men at a mosque in San Diego, California, in a suspected hate crime, before taking their own lives, police said.
The shooting took place on Monday morning, two hours after the mother of one of the suspects called police to say her son had run away and was potentially suicidal.
What happened?
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said officers first received a call about 9.42am from a mother about a “runaway juvenile”. The mother believed her son was suicidal and reported “several of her weapons” and vehicle were missing.
Caption: SAN DIEGO, UNITED STATES – MAY 18: People inspect the scene in the area near the San Diego Islamic Center as officers urge residents to avoid the area and remain indoors after reports of an active shooter at a mosque, in San Diego, California, United States, on May 18, 2026. Police in the US city of San Diego said Monday that a reported active shooter threat at the Islamic Center of San Diego had been ‘neutralized.’ (Photo by Michael Ho Wai Lee/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Photographer: Anadolu
Provider: Anadolu via Getty Images
Source: Anadolu
Caption: Two men embrace at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photographer: Gregory Bull
Provider: AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Source: AP
She told police her son was with a companion and they were both dressed in camouflage, prompting police to elevate the threat level and send out officers to search for the teens.
How the incident unfolded
Police were with the mother only a few streets away from the Islamic Center of San Diego when an active shooter was reported, about 11.43am local time. When officers arrived, they found three deceased victims. One was a security guard at the centre.
Big Read
4 min read
NEWS
3 min read
Police investigate hate crime
Two teenage suspects were later found dead in a nearby vehicle with self-inflicted wounds.
Police said they are investigating the shooting as a hate crime and “hate rhetoric” was involved.
The suspect’s mother found a note left behind, but police did not provide further details on what was written beyond it containing “general hate speech”.
Explained
4 min read
Understand this story in pictures
Caption: People embrace near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photographer: Gregory Bull
Provider: AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Source: AP
Caption: Police tape is placed near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photographer: Gregory Bull
Provider: AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Source: AP
Caption: People stand behind police tape at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photographer: Gregory Bull
Provider: AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Source: AP
Caption: BRIDLINGTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 10: Crew members stand on the bow as the Royal National Lifeboat Antony Patrick Jones returns safely with crew to Bridlington RNLI station after taking part in rescue operations after two vessels collided in the North Sea on March 10, 2025 in Bridlington, England. Thirty-two people were reportedly brought ashore with injuries after the collision of the oil tanker Stena Immaculate and the Solong, a cargo vessel, on Monday morning. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Photographer: Ian Forsyth
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2025 Getty Images
NEWS
RNLI urges people to ‘float to live’ if struggling in water
With warmer weather coming up over the weekend, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has issued guidance about what to do if you get into trouble in the water.
Here’s a break down of their advice for staying safe while swimming.
Swimmer safety
Float to Live, lifeguards urge
People gathering in the river Thames in South Bank in London (Photographer: lorenzo grifantini
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStock Editorial)
Most people will instinctively thrash around in the water if they get into trouble, but this is dangerous as you can quickly tire.
Tipping your head gap so your ears are submerged is the best way to stay afloat, moving your arms and legs if you need to.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
Police received a report from paramedics at around 4.30pm on Wednesday of people requiring assistance on the beach off Bournemouth Pier (Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Relax and breathe
By doing this, you give yourself the chance to rest and recover your breathing.
Emmie Seward Adams, of the RNLI water safety delivery support team, said that floating gives the body a chance to relax.
You can then call for help or start to swim for safety once you’re calm.
In 2024, there were 193 accidental drowning deaths in the UK, according to the RNLI’s data.
What do the figures tell us?
How many accidental drowning deaths have there been in recent years?
193
In 2024, there were 193 accidental drowning deaths in the UK, according to the charity’s data.
84%
Of these fatalities, 84 per cent were male and more 20 to 29-year-olds drowned that year than any other age group.
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A video was released this week of a World War II-era seaplane making an emergency landing on a street in Phoenix, Arizona, in April. The video shows the plane flying over the city as it begins to lose altitude, then shows its hard landing and the three passengers emerging uninjured. #US #news
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Celebrities call for end to Chelsea Flower show gnome ban
Caption: Undated handout photo issued by the Royal Horticultural Society of gnomes painted by celebrities photographed at RHS Chelsea Flower Show which will be on display at the 2026 Show and are available to bid on from tomorrow in an online auction that runs until Sunday 24th May. Gnome lineup (left-right): FBrian May, Kelly Hoppen, Alan Titchmarsh, Mary Berry, Frances Tophill, Angellica Bell, Joanna Lumley and Floella Benjamin. For the second time in the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the world’s leading horticultural charity has lifted its ban on gnomes, inviting celebrities to paint them to help raise funds for the next generation of gardeners. The ban on gnomes has been lifted only once before, in 2013, to celebrate the centenary of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Issue date: Thursday May 14, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Oliver Dixon/RHS/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Oliver Dixon/RHS
Provider: Oliver Dixon/RHS/PA Wire
Source: PA
Copyright: Oliver Dixon
Stars and gardeners, including Alan Titchmarsh and Frances Tophill, have called on the prestigious charity to end the century-long ban on garden residents.
Their inclusion was allowed this year by special permission.
A royal reprieve
The ban has been in place since the show’s foundation in 1927, but the Royal Horticultural Society is under pressure to lift it after celebrities painted gnomes for the King’s garden this year.
The Chelsea Flower Show, which opens today, raises money for the Royal Chelsea Hospital in south-west London.
Caption: Undated handout photo issued by the Royal Horticultural Society Frances Tophill and a selection of gnomes painted by celebrities photographed at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this morning. Gnome lineup (left-right): Brian May, Kelly Hoppen, Alan Titchmarsh, Mary Berry, Frances Tophill, Angellica Bell, Joanna Lumley and Floella Benjamin. For the second time in the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the world’s leading horticultural charity has lifted its ban on gnomes, inviting celebrities to paint them to help raise funds for the next generation of gardeners. The ban on gnomes has been lifted only once before, in 2013, to celebrate the centenary of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Issue date: Thursday May 14, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Oliver Dixon/RHS/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Oliver Dixon/RHS
Provider: Oliver Dixon/RHS/PA Wire
Source: PA
Copyright: Oliver Dixon
LIFESTYLE
3 min read
End unfair ban on friendly guardians, says comedian
The origins of gnomes is the Latin gnomus, meaning earth dweller. The Romans had them as guardians of the garden and to protect against malign spirits. So I think they have been much maligned.
BILL BAILEY, ACTOR, MUSICIAN AND COMEDIAN, TOLD THE GUARDIAN
Caption: A gnome on display on the Harkness Roses stand during press day at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Picture date: Monday May 18, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Photographer: Aaron Chown
Provider: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Source: PA
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Germany is cracking down on shrinkflation after a court ruled Milka “visually tricked” shoppers by shrinking its chocolate bars while raising prices. The iconic purple wrapper stayed almost identical, but customers were paying more for less chocolate. Mondelēz maintains that the lower weight was clearly visible on its packaging and has denied the allegations made by the Hamburg consumer group. milka chocolate germany mondelez freddobar
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Bodies of missing divers found in Maldives
The bodies of four Italian divers who went missing during a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been located.
Caption: Members of National Defence Force (MNDF) prepare to take part in a search and recovery operation for four Italian scuba divers in the waters of Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, May 16, 2026. Maldives President???s Office/ Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO ARCHIVES. NO RESALES. MANDATORY CREDIT.
Photographer: Maldives President’s Office
Provider: via REUTERS
Source: Handout
Who were the victims?
Two of the Italian divers – Professor Monica Montefalcone and Muriel Oddenino from the University of Genoa – were looking at the impact of climate change on biodiversity.
Giorgia Sommacal, Montefalcone’s daughter, and Federico Gualtieri, a recent graduate, were also part of the diving group.
The fifth Italian victim was boat operations manager and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
OPINION
3 min read
Divers found in Vaavu Atoll
The Italians were found inside a 60-metre-deep cave in Vaavu Atoll by a team of Finnish and Maldivian divers.
The body of a fifth Italian diver, a member of the group, had already been recovered shortly after Thursday’s accident.
Caption: FILE – This undated handout picture released by Greenpeace Italia on Friday, May 15, 2026 shows Monica Montefalcone one of the five Italian scuba divers who died near Alimathaa in the Maldives archipelago while exploring an underwater cave. (Greenpeace via AP, Ho)
Photographer: Greenpeace
Provider: Greenpeace via AP
Source: Greenpeace
A Maldivian rescue diver – Staff Sgt Mohamed Mahdhee – also died while searching for the bodies of the group. It is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation.
What happens next?
“Further dives [are] to be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies,” Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, said.
Two of the bodies would be recovered on Tuesday and the remaining two the following day, he said.
Caption: Scuba divers swim at Tugboat Beach in Caracasbaai, Curacao, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photographer: Matias Delacroix
Provider: AP Photo/Matias Delacroix
Source: AP
WORLD
6 min read
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An anti-Islam activist wore bacon while playing cello at the Unite the Kingdom march on Saturday during a live event streamed by far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Ryan Williams, also known as Korean Bacon on social media, has pulled similar stunts before, infamously appearing on Sky News Australia wearing bacon. Williams, who is known for making anti-Islam statements on social media, said on stage, “I’ve got enough balls to fight Islam”. #news #UK #unitethekingdom
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“We must be where audiences are, and experiment more bravely,” Brittin said, acknowledging that YouTube is becoming the default viewing option for millions of young people.
With the BBC set to cut 2,000 jobs under a three-year savings plan, insiders predicted Brittin would look at the case for closing entire channels.
Roger Mosey, former head of BBC TV News, said the new director-general should make the iPlayer “the heart of everything the BBC does. That would mean fewer traditional channels: perhaps merge BBC Two and BBC Four, and finally lay to rest BBC Three”.
A stripped-back BBC would commission high-impact drama, entertainment and current affairs shows for iPlayer and drop “filler” programmes, such as daytime series, that beef out channel schedules, under Mosey’s vision.
BBC director-general, Matt Brittin, speaks to members of the media as he arrives for his first day at Broadcasting House in London. The corporation is set to cut 2,000 jobs under a three-year savings plan (Photo: Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters)
Brittin also suggested that the BBC’s layer of middle managers could be in his sights, with a promise to back bold decision-making by programme-makers.
“We must never allow our duty to take risks and deliver quality to be undermined by unnecessary process or misplaced caution,” he said.
However, he has also asked the BBC’s executive committee to explore measures to protect the broadcaster’s “editorial excellence” and avoid costly errors like Panorama’s misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech, which led to his predecessor Tim Davie’s resignation.
Cuts to programmes and staff
The new DG pledged to fight for the BBC’s future and back “our brilliant creative, editorial and technical people”.
But he did not suggest any retreat from plans already in place to cut 2,000 jobs and make a further 10 per cent in savings over the next three years. “I know change will not be easy. Tough choices are unavoidable as we make savings,” he said.
BBC Three and Four could be under threat. Some news figures believe the rolling BBC News channel is also outdated in the YouTube era.
A reinvented licence fee
Brittin told staff he would be “making the strongest possible argument for our future as part of the charter process”.
The BBC wants to extend the base of people required to pay the licence fee, possibly including those who watch streaming platforms. A skilled negotiator of Whitehall’s corridors of power during his decade as Google boss, Brittin has already met Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to push the case for reform.
He has yet to publicly state his personal preference for a reinvented charge.
Lessons from Google
Brittin’s skill at the tech giant was to hire the right people and let them get on with the job, allies say. A streamlined organisational structure helps Google respond to change with agility. The BBC is bogged down with bureaucracy to the frustrations of staff.
The BBC “must be simpler, faster and more connected with audiences than ever” said Brittin, in what will be a culture shock for some.
Restore trust in News
Brittin has tasked the BBC’s executive committee to look into measures to preserve “editorial excellence” – code for avoiding more failings like the misleading Trump edit on Panorama and the Gaza documentary narrated by the son of a Hamas official.
Brittin will appoint a deputy DG with news experience to get ahead of future scandals. But the new boss is also “backing bold journalism and storytelling” which will please staffers. Brittin avoided the vexed question of news “impartiality” in his email but will invite questioning by staff at a meeting on Tuesday.