BBC signs off at Bush House

The BBC Director General Mark Thompson signed off the final broadcast from Bush House yesterday, praising it as an "enduring beacon of truth and objectivity".

The World Service, which has transmitted from the imposing building in Aldwych for more seven decades, has moved to Broadcasting House in Oxford Circus. And Mr Thompson himself featured in the final bulletin at noon.

He told listeners: "This benign Tower of Babel, the scene of so many great broadcasting moments and the home of so many great broadcasters over the years, is now silent. Its corridors deserted; its studios empty. As the BBC's Director General, I'd like to pay tribute to all those who made Bush House such an enduring beacon of truth and objectivity in a troubled world."

He rounded off his report in traditional style by adding: "This is Mark Thompson, BBC News, Bush House."