BBC SPLASHES OUT £7M ON NEW LOGOS

Is it any wonder the BBC took months to say how much its rebrand cost? | How BBC tried to hide truth about £7m of public money it spent on 'rebranding' logos

- Ciaran McGrath

THE BBC spent more than £7million of licence fee payers’ money on creating new logos, a Daily Express investigation can reveal.

The corporation then tried to keep the true cost secret when we challenged it over the bill for its “digital rebranding”.

The move – to create a “modern BBC” – comes as over-75s are forced to pay the licence fee and regional news outlets are closed.

Dennis Reed, of campaign group Silver Voices, said: “This ‘modernisation’ project reveals the warped sense of priorities...£7million would pay for 45,000 licences for the over-75s who had their free licences scrapped by this same BBC Executive team.

“It could have paid for free licences for most households with an older person living with dementia.”

Having spent the cash on the new designs, the BBC repeatedly rejected requests from the Daily Express to reveal the cost under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

After an eight-month battle, the Information Commissioner ordered the broadcaster to disclose the exercise’s cost.

Rebecca Ryan, campaign director at Defund The BBC, said: “This is typical from the BBC.

“The organisation’s complete lack of transparency is one of the reasons thousands of people are choosing to stop funding it.

“It’s time to pull the plug on the TV licence and force the BBC to become answerable to those that choose to fund it.”

Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “This latest BBC branding binge will surely give taxpayers a nasty hangover.