Dyke orders end to the BBC pastries

Greg Dyke, the director-general of the BBC, has ordered a clampdown on croissants at managers' morning meetings. Instead, the highest level gatherings at the BBC are to feature a diet of "tea, coffee and water".

An insider said: "A memo has been passed to the PAs of the BBC's top managers suggesting that in any breakfast meetings with Greg there should be no food or fruit because a lot gets left over and it's a waste."

Mr Dyke's predecessor, Sir John Birt, had a reputation as a puritan who lunched on a few pieces of fruit and a glass of Perrier. Many had hoped Mr Dyke's ambition for a "happier BBC" would include a return to more food and drink.

Sources close to the director general said his edict is not a total ban, but "sets the tone" for the level of food consumption at BBC meetings.