BBC Trust reveals expenses claims

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/entertainment/8483821.stm

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BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons claimed more than the average UK salary in expenses over a six-month period, figures released by the BBC show.

Sir Michael claimed £29,603 for items including hotels, rail tickets and part-time access to a car and driver.

However, he reduced the bill by more than £5,000 compared to the same period in 2008-2009, when he claimed £35,126.

The average person living in the UK earns around £25,800 per year, nearly £4,000 less than the expense claim.

The latest batch of figures, published every six months by the BBC, covered the period from April - September 2009.

They showed that Sir Michael claimed more than the other 11 board members of the trust, which is the BBC's governing body.

The other claims totalled £46,943.63, the biggest among these being Jeremy Peat's claims for £9,376.49.

By contrast, Mehmuda Mian, David Liddiment, Anthony Fry and Diane Coyle each claimed just three-figure sums over the six-month period. Mian's total was a modest £513.41.

A number of the trustees who live outside London and had to travel to the city for meetings and functions ran up sizeable sums for travel and accommodation.

Sir Michael claimed £8,485 for hotels during the half-year and spent £5,540 on rail fares.

As chairman, he is expected to travel the country to meet BBC licence fee payers and other stakeholders in the corporation.