The appointment by the BBC of the veteran reporters Julia Somerville and Fiona Armstrong was seen as a well-timed response to accusations of ageism at the corporation.

However, the Daily Mail claimed today that both reporters, who returned to screens just days ago, are only on 30-day contracts.

The news comes just under three weeks after the Times reported that journalist Miriam O’Reilly was to sue the corporation for age and sexual discrimination after she was one of four female presenters dropped from the Countryfile rural affairs programme.