BBC pay

SIR – The BBC has long had a cavalier attitude to pay.

Initially it hired senior executives and paid them astronomical sums on the grounds that this was necessary to attract “top talent”.

Next, it started paying front-line broadcasters extraordinarily high salaries, using the same rationale. It later turned out that these high sums were for men only. When questioned, the BBC used terms such as “stars” in an attempt to get us to believe that these people were so good that it was foolish to question their remuneration. In fact, many of these highly paid stars are, at best, ordinary – and, at worst, highly irritating.

Now it transpires that the BBC, which we thought was allowing employees to be paid as if they were contractors, has been encouraging these employees to be paid through personal companies, and even making it a requirement (report, March 5). In true BBC fashion, it is now denying any wrongdoing. What will it take for the BBC to get its house in order? Jim Oliver

Chichester, West Sussex