PM highlights executive pay levels as thousands of staff walk out, forcing Radio 4's Today and BBC1's Breakfast off air
David Cameron has said there were no grounds for Monday's strike by journalists at the BBC because the corporation remains a well-funded broadcaster after a "fair" licence feel deal in 2010.
The prime minister, who contrasted the six-year freeze in the licence fee with cuts to some public spending, noted that the BBC was still paying large salaries after the appointment of James Purnell.
The former Labour culture secretary is to rejoin the BBC as director of strategy and digital on a salary of £295,000 – more than double the prime minister's salary of £142,500. "Quite a lot of people at the BBC do that," the prime minister said when reminded that Purnell is to earn more than him.
Cameron gave a muted response to the appointment of Purnell, one of the first major hirings by the incoming BBC director general Lord Hall. "I haven't fully taken it on board," Cameron said of the Purnell appointment. "I'll judge it by the results. They have clearly had a traumatic time with the departure of the director general. So let's judge it on the results. Clearly he is a talented person and let's see how it all turns out."
The prime minister was dismissive of Monday's strike by BBC journalists. "I think the licence fee settlement we came to in 2010 was a fair one," he said. "When you look at what other institutions have had to bear in terms of efficiencies I think that freeze in the licence fee and taking on some additional costs was a good outcome. So I think the BBC is a well funded broadcaster and I am sure it has got the resources necessary to cover important things going on in the world."
Thousands of BBC journalists joined in the 24-hour strike, forcing flagship news programmes including Radio 4's Today and World at One off the air. The National Union of Journalists organised the strike in protest at cost-saving measures, dubbed Delivering Quality First by BBC bosses, introduced after the hastily agreed licence fee settlement in 2010. About 2,000 jobs are expected to go over seven years as part of the BBC cuts.
Michelle Stanistreet, the general secretary of the NUJ, said rank-and-file journalists were angered at the huge payouts to recently departed senior executives at the corporation, including former director general George Entwistle and ex-chief operating officer Caroline Thomson.
"Not only has the impact of the cuts been felt now – we're seeing the effect on quality journalist and programming – but they're having to sit by and hear revelation after revelation at the reality of executive pay [and] the payoffs that have been given," she said. "All the time they're supposed to accept that journalism at the BBC is being compromised as a result of the cuts – they've simply had enough."
Newsnight's economics editor, Paul Mason, joined about 15 BBC staff on the picket line outside the corporation's New Broadcasting House headquarters in central London. The corporation rescheduled a planned appearance by former the Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. He was due to play a session on Lauren Laverne's show, but the host refused to cross the picket line.
The BBC said it was "disappointed" with the industrial action, adding that it would not alter the fact that it has to make "significant" savings.
Guardian