Not legally.

They are supposed to be impartial if the government do something stupid (I know hard to believe) They're supposed to report on it.

There's a whole thing where the conservatives have put Stooges in place. Trying to turn the BBC into agovernment propaganda platform isn't actually legal. So yeah it's a surprise it is happening.

The original comment seems to suggest that no one should be shocked that the BBC is government controlled but actually it is pretty awful and shocking. It is a surprise, and it isn't something to be expected as the comment seems to suggest it should be.