March 7, 2014updated 20 Mar 2014 6:44pm

BBC’s £320k-a-year director of TV: We’d earn double in the private sector

Senior BBC staff working in the commercial sector could earn double their six-figure wages, a senior BBC executive has claimed.

The BBC’s director of television, Danny Cohen, who earns £320,000 a year, defended executive salaries as the BBC came under increased pressure for its decision to take BBC Three off the air in order to save £100 million, according to The Times.

Speaking at a fundraising event for charity World Jewish Relief, The Times reports that he said: "The executives continue to be well-paid, but if we went to commercial organisations we'd be paid roughly double.

"So we take a significant discount on what we would make if we were working in commercial organisations."The BBC has continued to dispute that that it must pay its employees much higher salaries that other publicly funded organisations as it is in constant competition with rival commercial broadcasters with massive budgets."

Earlier this week, Press Gazette reported that at least 10 editorial executives at the BBC earn more than Prime Minister David Cameron's £142,500 salary.