BBC go one better than MPs

A brilliant piece of BBC spin in this morning’s newspapers. They briefed the media that in the interest of transparency they would be publishing the salaries and expenses of their key figures, although it wouldn’t be anything like the MPs scandal, because there would be nothing like second homes. In fact, they were also facing Freedom of Information requests.

Well there may not be second home allowances, but I have to say the published information is even worse:

- Fifty of the highest paid executives on £160,000 plus, with most on more than £200,000 – all paid more than the Prime Minister
- Over £2,000 for flying back the Director General and his family from holiday
- Claims from executives for bottles of champagne and flowers to be sent to the stars
- And to cap it all, a refusal to publish the salaries of their main presenters, who are earning up to £6 million a year each! - they've redacted the lot!

I would have no problem if the BBC paid these types of salaries if they had earned their revenue in a competitive market. But it really is unacceptable that these incomes are being paid when their revenue is being drawn from a poll tax (the licence fee) which we all have to pay regardless of our income or how much BBC programming we actually watch.