In fact, the top hundred earners in the BBC all get paid many many times what an MP earns.

I don’t know whether the DG and his senior staff are worth that much or not, I have no problem with people being paid well, but it helps get the accusation that MP’s all have their noses in the trough in perspective doesn’t it?

Read the full story here.

As I have said before, I have found the past few months quite sickening and extraordinary. The sooner these problems are dealt with and the sooner these issues are cleared up the better it will be for everyone. I’m sure the 2,000 steelworkers laid off yesterday would prefer it if the political classes would concentrate a bit harder on sorting out the mess the whole country is in, not just their own issues.

However, the BBC has made a start but this does not go nearly far enough. Politicians have learned the hard way that there is no point being half-hearted when it comes to disclosing how public money is spent. We need full transparency so that licence fee payers know what their money goes on. We then need the National Audit Office to assess whether this delivers value for money.