Public broadcaster's rival Channel 4 claims project is behind schedule and over budget

The BBC has come under fire from a rival TV station for the amount spent on its refurbishment of its London headquarters.

Channel 4 chairman, Luke Johnson, slammed the BBC for the project which it claimed was behind schedule and over budget. It also said that it was an example of financial accountability, according to reports.

It is understood a National Audit Office report due to be published next month may be critical of the BBC.

The refurbishment is part of an extension to Broadcasting House, which is a grade II listed building, and was due to be finished in 2009, but a series of setbacks delayed the completion date.

Patricia Hodgson, a member of the BBC Trust, said at the Oxford Media Convention that the project had been a “major problem”, the Guardian reported.

“There will be a published account of this within the next month. What the trust did was it closed down the phase where there were problems, took a grip and brought in the NAO to report precisely because of the concerns you have expressed.”

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