The BBC boss who insulted nearly half the country earns an enormous salary without even working full-time, it emerged yesterday.
Trying to rebut allegations of BBC elitism, £330,000-a-year Alan Yentob insisted the corporation did make programmes for C2s and DEs – a technical term for the working classes.
Viewers said his comments on Newsnight were arrogant and showed he was out of touch.
And yesterday the BBC had to admit that – despite commanding a salary more than twice that of the Prime Minister – Mr Yentob’s job is ‘not a contracted full-time role’.
In an embarrassing series of letters, the BBC also struggled to explain what he does as creative director, claiming it is ‘highly specialised and bespoke role unique to him’.
Asked for Mr Yentob’s job description, it said that he was ‘a leading figure in the broadcast world’ but was unable to detail his duties.
The 68-year old media grandee is paid one salary of £183,300 a year for his work as creative director, and another as editor and presenter of BBC programmes such as the arts series Imagine.
He has refused to say exactly how much this is, but BBC insiders says it is ‘easily’ in the region of £150,000 a year, bringing his total package to around £330,000. On Wednesday Mr Yentob was wheeled out to explain the decision to sack Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear but was ridiculed for bungling his lines.
He claimed Mr Clarkson had ‘already suffered’ by being dropped from the show and it was ‘ridiculous’ to suggest he shouldn’t be paid until the end of his contract.
Mr Yentob then said the BBC did not cater only for the metropolitan elite saying it ‘reached out to…C2s [and] DEs’ – who account for more than 46 per cent of the population.
Last night, John Hemming, Liberal Democrat MP from Birmingham Yardley, called for an investigation into Mr Yentob’s pay.
‘It sounds to me a lot like somebody who is a popular person within the BBC hierarchy getting a bung for just existing,’ he said.
‘There should be an inquiry into where the value for money is.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘As creative director, Alan oversees the BBC’s creative strategy across all content and services including acting as the focal point for all BBC talent management.
‘Alan has also built the BBC’s partnerships with arts and cultural organisations across the UK.’