BBC Proms begins with music by black British composer ‘exploring themes of identity’

The live-music leg of the BBC Proms kicked off with a composition ‘exploring themes of identity’ by a renowned Black British composer. 

The world premiere of Hannah Kendall’s five-minute Tuxedo: Vasco ‘de’ Gama opened the programme on BBC Two tonight at the Royal Albert Hall.

Kendall sat in the audience as her spine-tingling Basquiat-inspired composition was performed to empty seats.

Classical-music enthusiasts have to watch the show from their sofas this year due to coronavirus restrictions as performers remained spaced out in a socially-distanced arrangement.

The final two weeks of the season will end in the much-talked about Last Night of the Proms, which has been hit with controversy surrounding the BBC’s decision remove the lyrics from Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory after critics claimed the patriotic anthems were ‘racist’. 

Cellist and composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson – who appeared as a guest alongside Stephen Fry – discussed the piece with presenter Katie Derham.

The musician, who is also a friend of Kendall, said: ‘I can only imagine as a young British composer of African-Caribbean ancestry exploring themes of identity in this unprecedented year where we celebrate 70 years of Windrush, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, and a pandemic and a Prom like no other.

‘Honestly she’s got to be feeling just incredibly out of this world. She’s probably feeling very very honoured.’

The BBC’s classic music series has this year been embroiled in controversy over whether Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory should be sung on its final night.

As it stands, the patriotic songs will be played by an orchestra only on September 12, supposedly because the lack of an audience will diminish their impact.

It comes as an exclusive Daily Mail poll reveals growing public discontent with the broadcaster. 

Two thirds of voters want the £157.50 television charge scrapped and 59 per cent believe the BBC was wrong over the Rule Britannia singing row.

Ministers are expected to make a final decision next month on whether non-payment should no longer be a criminal offence. Any change would be introduced in 2022.

The proposal will be fiercely resisted by the corporation, which says it could lose £1billion over five years.

But today’s poll reveals overwhelming support for the idea, with just 18 per cent believing non-payers should  face a criminal record. 

A source warned that the BBC ‘have not helped themselves’, adding: ‘It was made very clear that they would be expected to honour the agreement to fund free TV licences, but they chose not to.

‘And the recent misjudgements over the Proms just strengthen the feeling that they are badly out of touch with the public they are supposed to serve.

‘Will that help them head off decriminalisation? You can draw your own conclusions but it is hard to see why they should continue to be treated as a special case.’

The poll’s findings include:

• 59 per cent say they back Boris Johnson’s criticism of the BBC for ‘cringing with embarrassment over our history’;

• Three in ten say they watch no BBC TV and 57 per cent say they never listen to its radio stations;

• 30 per cent think the BBC is Left-wing compared with only 19 per cent who believe that it is Right-wing;

• More than half think the corporation is too politically correct;

• A similar number say the BBC ‘does not reflect’ their values.

During last year’s election Boris Johnson suggested the licence fee could be axed. He said: ‘How long can you justify a system whereby everybody who has a TV has to pay to fund a particular set of TV and radio channels?’

But, with the licence fee regime due to run until 2027, ministers have now set their sights on decriminalisation.

A formal government consultation on the issue was launched in February and received well over 100,000 responses. Every household with a TV set must buy a licence, regardless of whether or not they use BBC services.

Failure to pay can lead to court action leading to a fine of up to £1,000. Those who fail to pay can face jail in extreme cases. In 2018, more than 121,000 people were convicted and sentenced for licence fee evasion and issued with fines averaging £176.

Decriminalisation would not make payment voluntary. Instead it would become a civil offence similar to non-payment of utility bills or parking fines.

Tom Hunt, Tory MP for Ipswich, said the corporation had lost the trust of the public. He added: ‘They are chipping away at what makes our country what it is. People are sick of it. A year ago, wanting to scrap the licence fee was a minority pursuit but that is changing very fast. The situation is unsustainable. Decriminalisation is a good start.’

Peter Bone, a fellow Tory MP supporting backbench legislation on the issue, said: ‘The BBC shot themselves in both feet over Last Night of the Proms. Yet again they showed contempt for the values of ordinary people.’

In its response to the consultation, the corporation said decriminalisation would ‘inevitably require significant cuts’ to programmes and services. It said the existing system, which raises £3.69billion a year, was ‘fair, effective and good value for money’.

It said a government review of the system in 2015 found that decriminalisation would make collection of the licence fee less efficient.

JL Partners interviewed a total of 1,012 adults online for the Mail’s poll on Thursday. 

Race to bring a US-style TV news service to Britain with two groups plotting to rival the BBC and Sky 

By Paul Revoir Media Editor for the Daily Mail 

The race is on to bring a US-style TV news service to Britain with two groups plotting to rival the BBC and Sky.

Both the planned services, set to be dominated by ‘strong’ and ‘well-known’ personality presenters, are expected to shake up the market and challenge the BBC, which is increasingly regarded as Left-of-centre and dominated by ‘woke’ politics.

In a sign of how serious the plans are, one of the businesses has been in talks with the BBC’s most respected political interviewer Andrew Neil, who has still not resolved his future at the corporation.

While it is unclear exactly where the new services will pitch themselves on the political spectrum, it is thought they are certain to be to the Right of the BBC.

Today’s exclusive Daily Mail poll reveals that half of people said the corporation ‘does not reflect’ their values. And 59 per cent said they agreed with Boris Johnson’s criticism of the BBC for ‘cringing with embarrassment over our history’.

The two planned new services are both expected to be more ‘news-talk’ shows than the traditional rolling news services that are provided by BBC News and Sky News. One of the companies, GB News, which has already secured an Ofcom licence, is backed by investors from the US and the UK. It has been in talks with American media giant Discovery.

It is understood that GB News has been in discussions with Mr Neil about joining up, with sources suggesting it would be similar to a TV version of the LBC radio station.

According to an insider it will aim to sit in the centre of the political spectrum but be less Left-wing and less woke than the BBC. The insider said: ‘Just by taking a centrist line it will seem more to the Right because the others are so much to the Left.’ Sources say News UK, the publisher of The Sun and The Times, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has also been developing plans to launch a news channel. Discussion are at an advanced level.

Earlier this year David Rhodes, former president of CBS News in the US, was brought in to News UK. It is understood he joined to launch a news channel.

There are said to be high-level discussions about what form the service will take. Mr Rhodes also worked as a senior executive at Fox News, which is on the Right of American politics and is famous for its strident take on the news.