BBC to publish expenses claimed by senior staff

BBC to publish expenses claimed by senior staff

Details of the expenses claimed by senior staff are to be made public for the first time as early as today, amid growing concern about possible misuse of licence fee-payers' money.

But information about the sums spent on hospitality for its most high-profile presenters and actors will be censored, sparking allegations of a partial cover-up.

The BBC has brought forward the publication in an effort to head-off criticism of its lack of transparency, following the Daily Telegraph's coverage of MPs' expenses claims.

Some BBC executives claimed as much as £1,000 a month for lunches, hotel stays and theatre trips in addition to their salaries, according to the newspaper.

The corporation claims the Freedom of Information Act allows expenses related to "journalism, art or literature" to be kept secret.

BBC to censor expenses which detail how much is spent on entertaining best-paid stars (Daily Telegraph, 25 June 2009)