A Conservative MP has criticised the director general of the BBC over plans for budget cuts in news and factual programmes.
Nigel Evans, MP for the Ribble Valley and a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said: "Mark Thompson's plans are to cut back on two flagship areas of the BBC. The BBC is a worldwide brand in news and factual programming. Our licence fee is now going to provide us with repeat after repeat and it is simply unacceptable.
"If such radical budget cuts need to take place, perhaps the BBC can look at the inflated contracts that some of their "stars" are on.
"I hope that the director general will look at the costs of bureaucracy within the BBC and also activities which cost a lot of money but which seem to have a lack of support from the public such as BBC Three and Four.
"It would appear that the largest viewing figures for these channels are programmes that can be seen on BBC One and Two."
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