BBC CAT EARNS £45K PLUS EXPENSES
THE row over BBC pay took a bizarre new turn last night when it emerged the Corporation was paying a cool £ 45,000 a year… to a CAT!
And it doesn’t end there, because the moneybags mog – called Esther after buck- toothed BBC busybody Esther Rantzen – also gets EXPENSES on top of the eyewatering salary.
The pussy payout was contained in BBC accounts shown to Sunday Sport by a whistleblower.
Because the mog’s wages do not total more than £ 150,000, they weren’t included in last week’s list of big- money stars.
But the fatcat salary – almost TWICE the average national wage – has caused outrage.
Ken Underwood, of BB- FREE, a group which campaigns to scrap the compulsory licence fee, raged: “I cannot believe the BBC is paying a cat £ 45,000. For what exactly?”
Last night a BBC source said: “Esther is a comfort cat, brought in to calm down nervous guests. She does an excellent job and is also a superb mouser. She represents excellent value for money.”
Investigation of footage from recent TV shows has shown Esther FAST ASLEEP during big- name TV shows hosted by stars such as Andrew Marr and Graham Norton.
A member of the Commons BBC committee, who asked not to be named, said: “The BBC will get a spanking over this. Now the cat really is out of the bag!”