Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 6, 2008 18:40:46 GMT
The 'poor' BBC, or at least that's what Mark Thompson its director-general would have you believe, has to show endless repeats of shows from a time when they could recognize quality, and lay off numerous staff to reduce its expenses, yet doesn't seem to have problem when it comes to financing his exhorbitant trips around the world.
How fitting!
How fitting!
BBC chief spends £40,000 on flights and hotels
Chris Hastings, Arts and Media Editor
Last Updated: 11:27pm GMT 05/01/2008
Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, has spent more than £40,000 on flights and hotel bills since taking up his post, according to figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.
Figures, released by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal Mr Thompson has been abroad 26 times since taking over at the helm of the corporation in 2004.
Highlights of his globe-trotting lifestyle include a visit to the Cannes Film Festival, stopping off at the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, and visiting the Athens Olympics.
The disclosure of the costs will infuriate staff who are currently fighting Mr Thompson's own proposals to slash more than 1,800 jobs.
Unions which represent 10,000 employees have already organised a strike ballot, the result of which is expected on January 23.
The BBC was unable to provide a full breakdown of the costs of all Mr Thompson's overseas trips, but it has been able to disclose details of flights worth just over £37,000 and hotel rooms costing just over £6,000.
The figures show that Mr Thompson has flown business class with British Airways on at least seven occasions and club class once.
Last year seems to have been his busiest, with nine trips to the United States, the Middle East, Paris, India, Washington and Brussels.
The BBC has disclosed details of three flights during the year, which cost between £3,000 and £4,700.
In April it spent just over £3,350 on two flights to Augusta and New York so Mr Thompson could attend the Masters golf tournament and a series of staff meetings.
Just a month later, the corporation spent £4,368 pounds flying its director-general to Seattle, where he attended a Microsoft conference.
In June he flew to Paris and Banff at a cost to the licence-payer of £4,729.
Mr Thompson's most expensive set of flights took place in September 2006, when he flew to Seattle, San José and San Francisco at a cost of just over £5,100.
The BBC described the purpose of the four-day trip as "internal staff meetings and external meetings".
The corporation has been unable to provide details of how much the trip to the Athens Olympics cost in 2004 but it has revealed that Mr Thompson flew club class for a day trip to the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 at a cost of just over £545.
Hotels used by Mr Thompson include the five-star Ciragan Palace, in Istanbul, which cost £762 for a two-night stay.
The BBC has declined to provide details of two trips made by Mr Thompson to the Middle East in 2007, which related to efforts to free the kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnson.
It has also refused to provide detailed information relating to trips to India, the United States and Belgium, all of which were made by Mr Thompson last year.
Chris Hastings, Arts and Media Editor
Last Updated: 11:27pm GMT 05/01/2008
Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, has spent more than £40,000 on flights and hotel bills since taking up his post, according to figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.
Figures, released by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal Mr Thompson has been abroad 26 times since taking over at the helm of the corporation in 2004.
Highlights of his globe-trotting lifestyle include a visit to the Cannes Film Festival, stopping off at the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, and visiting the Athens Olympics.
The disclosure of the costs will infuriate staff who are currently fighting Mr Thompson's own proposals to slash more than 1,800 jobs.
Unions which represent 10,000 employees have already organised a strike ballot, the result of which is expected on January 23.
The BBC was unable to provide a full breakdown of the costs of all Mr Thompson's overseas trips, but it has been able to disclose details of flights worth just over £37,000 and hotel rooms costing just over £6,000.
The figures show that Mr Thompson has flown business class with British Airways on at least seven occasions and club class once.
Last year seems to have been his busiest, with nine trips to the United States, the Middle East, Paris, India, Washington and Brussels.
The BBC has disclosed details of three flights during the year, which cost between £3,000 and £4,700.
In April it spent just over £3,350 on two flights to Augusta and New York so Mr Thompson could attend the Masters golf tournament and a series of staff meetings.
Just a month later, the corporation spent £4,368 pounds flying its director-general to Seattle, where he attended a Microsoft conference.
In June he flew to Paris and Banff at a cost to the licence-payer of £4,729.
Mr Thompson's most expensive set of flights took place in September 2006, when he flew to Seattle, San José and San Francisco at a cost of just over £5,100.
The BBC described the purpose of the four-day trip as "internal staff meetings and external meetings".
The corporation has been unable to provide details of how much the trip to the Athens Olympics cost in 2004 but it has revealed that Mr Thompson flew club class for a day trip to the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 at a cost of just over £545.
Hotels used by Mr Thompson include the five-star Ciragan Palace, in Istanbul, which cost £762 for a two-night stay.
The BBC has declined to provide details of two trips made by Mr Thompson to the Middle East in 2007, which related to efforts to free the kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnson.
It has also refused to provide detailed information relating to trips to India, the United States and Belgium, all of which were made by Mr Thompson last year.