BBC forced to admit defeat and reveal huge paychecks of highest paid stars
ALL high earning BBC celebrities will be forced to declare exactly how much they are paid after Theresa May ordered a rethink.
was slammed after buckling to corporation chiefs’ demand in May to let them carry on covering up the huge wages handed out to most pampered stars.
But the new PM has insisted on the long called-for transparency measure being enforced.
In exchange, the government will give up the right to appoint the majority of the BBC’s new board members, The Sun can reveal.
The deal struck between ministers and corporation chiefs will be revealed when the final version of the BBC’s new charter is published by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley today.
Under it, from next year the BBC will be forced to declare the salaries of all 109 of its stars who earn more than the Prime Minister’s £150,000 annual wage.
They will be laid out in £50,000 bands in the corporation’s annual report.
A government source said: “Licence fee payers have a right to know where their money goes.
“By making the BBC more transparent it will help deliver savings that then can be invested in even more great programmes”.
BBC bosses have bitterly resisted the move for years, arguing it will make it easier for rivals to pinch their best talent.
They forced former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale to agree that only stars earning over £450,000 a year would be forced to disclose their cash.
But the state-sponsored broadcast network was still livid with the government’s plan to appoint the majority of its new top authority’s members.
They complained that would amount to a political assault on its editorial independence.
Ministers have now agreed to only appoint five non-executive directors to its new unitary board - that replaces the discredited BBC Trust – rather than six.
The BBC will also appoint five.
One of the government’s appointees will be a new chairman for the board after former boss Rona Fairhead stormed out this week when she was told she had to apply afresh for the post.
related stories
MPs, including the Commons’ Culture Committee, were furious that the BBC stars had initially escaped the salary clamp down.
Committee chairman Damian Collins said last night: “It’s excellent news and what we asked for.
“License fee payers have a right to know how much of their money BBC employees are being paid.”
The BBC’s Olympics host Claire Balding also backed the move this week, saying it will shine light on gender pay disparity.
A BBC source said: “We pay less for stars than other broadcasters. We already publish details of spending on talent. Last year we cut the pay bill by £8m in what is an inflationary market.
“The BBC admires the work of civil servants, but we are not competing against the Government for our programmes – we’re up against global broadcasters.
“The public says they want the best stars on the BBC and this could make it harder to retain them.”
The Beeb’s highest highest rollers are believed to be: Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker (£1.8millon a year), Graham Norton (£1.3m), BBC2’s Jeremy Vine (£800,000), The Voice’s will.i.am (£600,000), political show host Andrew Marr (£580,000), Antiques Roadshow’s Fiona Bruce (£500,000), Have I Got News For You’s Ian Hislop (£400,000) and MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace (£300,000).
Tributes for departed Cameron
Mrs May heaped praise on David Cameron in front of MPs yesterday after previously savaging some of parts of his legacy.
Offering an olive branch after he stepped down as an MP, the new PM told the Commons: “He has been a tremendous public servant.
“This Government will build on that legacy by extending opportunity to all parts of the country.”