The BBC "was under fire" for treating hundreds of politicians, wealthy businessmen and its own staff to free tickets for Wimbledon, according to Goslett & Beckford of the London DAILY MAIL. While "ordinary members of the public have to spend hundreds of pounds or queue overnight to get in to the All England Club, the Corporation doled out 382 free passes." The beneficiaries included £2M ($3.3M)-a-year Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner. Senior BBC employees were given tickets, while junior staff were invited "as a reward for excellence at work." But the broadcaster admitted that "guests were allowed to give away their tickets, raising the possibility they could have found their way into the hands of black-market touts." Reading East Conservative MP Rob Wilson said, "The BBC has once again been caught abusing the money of licence-fee payers. Wimbledon tickets sprayed around to big companies who can afford their own is not what the BBC should be doing" (DAILY MAIL, 9/6).
