One small bit of fall out from Lord Patten being forced to quit as BBC Trust chairman before the end of his term in office following heart surgery in May last year has been revealed in the latest BBC Trust expenses figures, released on Thursday.
The bean counters at the corporation’s governing body had to shell out £1,536.90 for an one-way ticket from Cairns, Australia, back to London for vice-chair Diane Coyle.
Coyle interrupted her family holiday down under to return to carry out duties as acting chairman on a temporary basis while Patten’s replacement was lined up.
Monkey is relieved to note the ticket was listed as an economy class one, in line with the BBC’s austerity drive.
One of Coyle’s first decisions in the role was to mirror Patten’s decision to not take up the offer of an official BBC driver, previously a perk of the job.
Coyle spent £508.85 on cabs during the six months to September 2014 according to the official figures, more than any other BBC trustee (closest was Alison Hastings with a £322.69 taxi total), the bulk of which was for taxis from her house to the office.
