Press revelations of low ethical standards at Capita, the outsourcing firm the BBC pay to collect TV licenses have resulted in damage to the image of the BBC an undermining of public confidence and calls for the outdated fee to be abolished.

It is not known whether the BBC were aware that TV Licensing inspectors employed by Capita targeted elderly and vulnerable people to hit targets and earn substantial commissions. Director General Lord Hall was quick to distance his employer from Capita’s grubby ethos when the revelations that the BBC’s choice of outsourcing firm had hounded an ex-RAF officer with dementia and a young woman in a refuge.

Capita chief executive, Andy Parker will be leaving his employer this summer but denies that his moving on from his £2.7 million a year job is connected to the scandal.