Staff plan mass walkouts

Thousands of BBC staff are set to stage a walkout in sympathy for their deposed boss Greg Dyke.

Employees at the corporation are so upset by Mr Dyke's resignation following Lord Hutton's damning verdict on BBC bosses that they are planning an official protest.

TV documentary-makers are even planning to spend their own money on a newspaper advert which calls on the BBC to continue making trouble for the Government.

Today workers at the BBC across Britain spoke of a corporation that was clearly more damaged than ever before in its 82-year history.

Tearful staff staged a walkout yesterday in support of their boss, with more than 700 protesting outside the White City office complex.

Workers today were clearly still dismayed by Mr Dyke's departure and many feel suspicious about the Government's plans for the BBC.

Thousands of BBC employees across the country received an email from broadcasting union Bectu urging them to take part in the protest "to show our support for the continued independence of the BBC and an open process [of replacing Gavyn Davies and Mr Dyke] free from political interference".

The planned walkout between 12 and 2pm is not industrial action, the union says, and it does not expect those critical to broadcasts to take part.

It has also been reported that staff from the documentaries and factual departments are to pay for a newspaper advertisement in which they praise Mr Dyke and call for the BBC to continue with journalism which will "cause trouble" for the Government.

Today staff arriving at work were still numb. One woman, a 35-year-old administrative worker who asked not to be named, said: "I think yesterday's anger has given way to people just feeling low. Some, I think, have concerns about what a new director-general might bring about.

"Dyke's gone out on a high, he's left a hero. I don't think we can go back now it's happened, it would just open up a whole other can of worms, but we have to be vigilant about where we go from here."