BBC in its 8216;last stages8217;, warns editor

8220;The future? Well, I don8217;t think that it8217;s going to look very good for the BBC. I think the BBC we have known, for good or worse, is now in its last stages,8221; the veteran correspondent, whose career at the BBC spans more than 40 years, told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

According to Britain8217;s 8216;Daily Telegraph8217;, the sixty-four-year-old foreign correspondent, who has visited 120 countries, said the BBC was 8220;already cutting back on operations across the board, as a result of the effective cut in the licence fee8221;.

The grim assessment of the top editor, who fears that he may be sacked soon 8220;in horrible circumstances8221;, comes as the corporation has been forced to cut 2,500 posts and slash budgets for news and current affairs as the result of the lower than expected licence fee settlement.

Simpson8217;s warning comes soon after Terry Wogan, the veteran Radio 2 presenter, claimed the corporation had lost it standing as the finest broadcaster in the world.