THE deputy director general of the BBC, Mark Byford spent almost £5,000 flying to South Africa for a World Cup Final visit at the weekend, expense claims showed.
The executive also used the visit to hold meetings with bodies such as Fifa, which invited him, as well as visiting news bureaux in the region, the BBC said.
The £4,878.57 cost of the business-class fare is revealed in a new batch of expense claims by senior figures which were published today. Mr Byford, whose flight was booked last December, took a further return flight to Nairobi, Kenya, during his visit, costing £582.50.
The claims also show the BBC’s chief operating officer Caroline Thomson claimed £3,389.69 on taxis during a three-month period for the first quarter of this year. The figure is the equivalent of just over 23 licence fees, which currently cost £145.50 annually for a colour TV.
