The BBC licence fee could be scrapped under a Conservative Government, as Boris Johnson branded it a “tax” and questioned how long such a funding system could be justified.

Asked on the campaign trail if he would abolish the licence fee, Mr Johnson said he was “certainly looking at it,” adding that it was a questionable method of funding “in the long term given the way other organisations manage to fund themselves.”

He said: “I think the system of funding by what is effectively a general tax...bears reflection. 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? That is the question.“

Senior aides in Number 10 including his chief strategist Dominic Cummings are working on proposals to reform the way the BBC is funded.

One option would be to scrap the fee and force the BBC into a more commercial or subscription model like Sky or Netflix although ministers are constrained by having previously agreed under the BBC’s Royal Charter to continue the current system until 2027.