BBC 'identifies £40m more cuts'

Mr Thompson announced thousands of job cuts in December

The BBC may increase its £320 million cost-cutting plan by £40 million after an internal review identified areas where additional savings can be made.

Director general Mark Thompson said on Monday that savings would be reinvested in programme-making and new services.

"We've done a lot more detailed work since December, since the savings plan was announced," he said on Monday.

The cutbacks are expected to be felt most keenly among administation and professional services staff.

In December, Mr Thompson said savings of £320 million a year were needed to "keep up with the pace of change".

About 2,900 jobs are to be cut, while almost 2,000 employees are expected to move from London to Manchester.

The BBC aims to meet the savings target within three years.

However, a BBC spokeswoman said further savings had been identified locally following a departmental review.

She added that while the corporation has not changed its original savings target, it would be unlikely to turn down the chance to make additional cutbacks where available.

Digital revolution

Speaking at the Financial Times New Media and Broadcasting Conference on Monday, Mr Thompson said he would ask the BBC board of governors to approve the revised plans at their March meeting.

The corporation has already pledged to seek 15 per cent efficiency savings in "output areas" such as news, radio and TV.

Mr Thompson's announcement coincided with the launch of a new editorial strategy for programmes, content and services.

The Creative Futures project, he said, "will address the needs of our audiences as we enter the second phase of the digital revolution".

Jerry Springer: The Opera drew 1.8m viewers to BBC Two in January

"We need to meet - and exceed - audience's rapidly changing expectations and take calculated risks, while maintaining our commitment to excellence and innovation," he said.

Meanwhile, the director general has defended the BBC's decision to screen Jerry Springer - The Opera last month.

In a lecture to the Stationers' Livery Company entitled Angels and E-mails: Blasphemy and Broadcasting in 2005, Mr Thompson said the BBC had a "right and duty to remain a public space in which the widest range of ideas and creativity can be shared".

The controversial programme received a record 47,000 complaints concerning its strong language and controversial content.

However, the BBC has since claimed that many of the protests were part of an orchestrated campaign.

"The volume of protests was something we did take into consideration," he said on Monday.

"But even if around 50,000 different people really had registered their disquiet, that number has to be considered alongside the 1.8 million who eventually chose to watch Jerry Springer, and indeed the 25 million households we serve altogether."