BBC radio journalists have warned against plans to merge presenting and production staff at The World Tonight and Newshour that would put six jobs at risk of redundancy.

Staff have said the move would throw BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight “under the bus” and “severely damage” Newshour, the flagship current affairs programme for the BBC World Service.

Newshour airs for two hours at 8pm weeknights, while The World Tonight follows on Radio 4 at 10pm and runs for 45 minutes.