Sir Michael admits star salary concerns

BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons has admitted he has concerns about the huge salaries paid to big stars in a speech to the Royal Television Society.

The corporation has come under fire for wages paid to presenters including Jonathan Ross and Chris Moyles. Sir Michael said it had to beware of paying above the odds.

He explained: "There are tensions here, too, between the demand from the public for the BBC to bring them the best available talent, and a real concern that the BBC might contribute to inflated fees and salaries by responding too meekly to demands which reflect US realities rather than domestic values."

The chairman also expressed concern that the BBC was too focused on London and risked alienating other regions.

"One of the most worrying findings from the consultations we've done with the public is that people's loyalty to the BBC drops noticeably the further away they live from London.

"The figures are really striking. Compare 83 per cent in the South East agreeing with the statement that they would 'miss the BBC if it wasn't there', to 63 per cent of those in Scotland and 64 per cent of those in the north of England."

He said it was the BBC's role to unify the UK: "The BBC must seek out opportunities to bring disparate communities together to share a sense of being part of something much larger - the national community."