Consultant moving BBC to Salford lives in the US

A consultant who is leading a project to move hundreds of BBC staff from London to Manchester lives 4,000 miles away in the US, it emerged yesterday.

Guy Bradshaw, 44, commutes from his home in Kentucky to the corporation's new base in Salford. He worked for just 25 weeks in Britain last year, keeping him below the threshold for paying UK income tax.

He is responsible for BBC staff moving from London to MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. Some 2,300 posts are being transferred there, including 750 from London. Journalists, broadcasters, engineers and support staff are involved in the move. The set-up cost of the project is £200m.

Mr Bradshaw is also responsible for overseeing the move of staff from various London bases to Broadcasting House in the centre of the capital.

Angry staff wrote a letter to The Mail on Sunday, saying: "We would urge you most strongly to ask some hard questions about this as the real truth is certainly not out there – the indecision, costly changes of plan, mismanagement, failure of senior staff to commit to living in the North and much more."

A spokesman for the BBC said: "Guy Bradshaw is playing an important role in managing the migration of staff to Salford and Broadcasting House. He is employed by Equals Consulting who have a contract with the BBC. He is not directly employed by the BBC."

The spokesman would not reveal the value of the contract for commercial reasons. He said Mr Bradshaw paid for his travel and accommodation while working in the UK, but the BBC paid for rail tickets and hotels when he was in Salford.