George Entwistle appointed Director-General of the BBC

George Entwistle appointed Director-General of the BBC

The corporation paid recruitment consultants more than £157,000 to select BBC lifer George Entwistle for the post.

Yorkshireman Mr Entwistle, 49, will be paid £450,000-a-year â€" a huge drop on predecessor Mark Thompson’s £671,000 salary.

He will take over in September. The former Newsnight boss joined the Beeb in 1989 and currently oversees all TV and film output.

He was thought to be out of the running for the top job after coverage of the Jubilee pageant on the Thames was blasted as “inane” and “tedious”.

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten admitted there were “lessons to be learnt” but insisted “coverage of the Jubilee on the ceremonial day and the concert was the BBC at its best”.

He also defended the decision to employ headhunters, saying the Beeb needed “the most professional advice”.

Mr Entwistle said: “I’m very excited about all that lies ahead. I love the BBC.”

Bungling staff on TV’s BBC News at One reported Mr Entwistle’s appointment â€" but spelt his name WRONGLY in a caption to his photo. It called him Entwhistle â€" with a rogue “h”.

c.robertson@the-sun.co.uk