HERE is a letter from reader Phil Catchpole in response to the attack on the BBC licence fee by editor Steve Cohen.

I’ve just read your Editor’s Chair column (dated July 27). I was disappointed by what you had to say about the BBC.

The BBC does not provide just television, it has a huge radio output, makes films and syndicates content all over the world amongst other things.

The news output is independent and respected the world over, just try watching FOX or CNN for a week. Granted, not all of the output is to everyone’s taste, but Britain and the world would be a much poorer place without it.

The unique way it is funded provides the platform to offer impartial viewpoints. The current incumbent at Number 10 is dealing with the unfair advantage the BBC has over its commercial competitors in the current financial climate.

This has been overshadowed recently by the concern over his and other politicians’ relationships with the higher echelons of News International and the phone hacking scandal, events that again underline the need for a publicly-funded BBC.

I find it hard to believe that you cannot find enough in what the BBC offers to get your money’s worth. If you can’t, then it is you that is ‘THICK’ [in reference to a wordplay on ‘sick’ used in the Ed’s article] and on top of that not in possession of a soul.

Perhaps you don’t get out of Bucks much? I spend a lot of time working all over the world and get to sample the media in many different countries and where it is solely based on commercial outlets it is largely based on lowest common denominator output.

There is always a time and a place for such content, but the choice and ground-breaking output the BBC can produce without relying solely on commercial income provides us in the UK with fantastic terrestrial choice across TV and radio.

In regard to the over zealous collection of the fee itself you may have a point, so you should have just written about this issue. I pay mine by direct debit so am not bothered by anyone over this subject matter.

Perhaps if you didn’t use your column to peddle your narrow-minded views about the BBC people would be less likely to evade it?

Phil Catchpole, Loudwater, (not an employee of the BBC!)