A WORCESTERSHIRE MP is backing a move to publish the salaries of all BBC workers earning more than the Prime Minister.

Nigel Huddleston, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, says the move would offer more transparency for taxpayers.

The Conservative also told the Worcester News the fact the earnings of so many high-flying Beeb performers, presenters and producers is kept secret “raises suspicion”.

The committee has published a new report on the BBC White Paper which backs a series of recommendations over the corporation's future.

One is to make highly-paid BBC workers "more accountable to the public" by publishing details of any staffer earning more than £143,000 – the going rate for whoever is in Number 10.

Mr Huddleston said: "The BBC has made real progress in providing a degree of transparency as to the number of people whose pay exceeds certain levels.

"The fact of the matter is however, licence fee payers have a right to know where and how their money is being spent to a much greater degree than they currently do.

"This should include the vast sums of money being spent on BBC talent.

"Given the threshold for the publishing of executives’ salaries will be £143,000, there is no good reason why the same should not apply to BBC performers, presenters and producers.

"The fact that it has been difficult to find out what talent is paid raises suspicion."

The suggestion goes much further than the Government’s own white paper, which recommends that BBC talent earning more than £450,000 should be identified, higher than the £143,000 threshold for rank-and-file executives.

The committee has also recommended that a TV news programme called ‘Scottish Six’ should be launched, anchored from Scotland with its main emphasis being news from north of the border.

It also flagged up serious concern over how the new board, saying the process of appointing a new chair should have been done via an open recruitment process.

Mr Huddleston added: “On the subject of the appointment of the chair of the new BBC unitary board, most of us believe that, put simply, in all cases the best person for a job should get it.

“Whilst Rona Fairhead is undoubtedly extremely capable an open, fair and transparent recruitment process would have been preferable to a closed shop appointment.”

According to the BBC's most recent report, its overall wage bill for talent was £200 million.

Some 109 of its TV and radio stars were paid more than £150,000, while seven earned in excess of £450,000.