Yesterday saw the publication of the BBC's Annual Report, and it didn't make for a pleasant read. Despite the rhetoric of those at the top on making the BBC a leaner organisation, the Report revealed that both headcount and salary have gone up over the past year. The BBC has to become a more efficient organisation, and the upcoming Charter Review needs to have a root-and-branch look at everything the Corporation is doing. There is a very good argument that they should trim down the number of services they provide, focussing on essential public service broadcasting. Our criticism was featured in today's Daily Mail and the Daily Express.
Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that a mafia boss had enjoyed some £67,000 of legal aid as he fought a two year extradition battle. We've written in the past about the cuts to legal aid, which are leaving some vulnerable people without help whilst others - including this former mafia boss - seem immune from the same financial restraint. Jonathan Isaby's comments were printed in the Evening Standard.
"Cuts to legal aid have not been enacted nearly as well as they should have been. Many who legitimately needed legal aid have seen it removed, so taxpayers will rightly question why a former mafia boss has received so much. Every penny spent on this case has been in vain thanks to bungling that delayed the case until the sentence had expired. Nobody in the legal system, from the Minister of Justice down, has come out of this with much credit."