19 Feb 2013

BBC shows cancelled amid strike

9:37 am on 19 February 2013

The BBC cancelled several TV and radio news programmes on Monday as journalists staged a strike for 24 hours over job cuts.

Members of the National Union of Journalists walked out at midnight on Sunday over compulsory redundancies expected to affect BBC Scotland, Radio 5 Live, the Asian Network and the World Service.

AAP reprots Radio 4's flagship news shows Today, World at One at lunchtime and PM and BBC TV's Breakfast, were replaced by pre-recorded shows.

The NUJ claims the British Broadcasting Corporation has lost more than 7000 jobs since 2004 and it plans to cut a further 2000 jobs as it slashes its budget by 20%.

The budget cuts are being driven by a fall in the revenue the corporation gets from a licence fee, which is paid by everyone in Britain with a television.

In a statement, the BBC apologised for Monday's disruption.