BBC criticised for Glastonbury staff 'junket'

The BBC TV coverage of the Glastonbury Festival has been estimated to have cost up to £5million to produce, a sum that some think is excessive.

The Daily Mirror reports that the corporation sent 405 staff to cover the four-day festival.

It screened highlights and live packages of acts like Bruce Springsteen on BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four as well as across several radio stations, an interactive channel and online.

But critics claim the BBC is using taxpayers' money to transform the festival into a junket for its staff.

Tory MP Philip Davies said: "I can't imagine any other broadcaster sending this many people to cover one festival.

"This demonstrates once again that the BBC is a bloated organisation. It doesn't operate according to the rules that other broadcasters have to follow."

A total of 125 BBC staff worked alongside 150 freelancers and 130 short-term contract staff at the 1,100 acre Glastonbury site in Somerset. But a spokesman refused to confirm the total cost of their productions, saying this was 'commercially sensitive.

He said all 405 staff were required. "You need that number of people to cover an event like this, lasting three of four days."