BBC under fire for blowing £700,000 refurbishing Welsh HQ which is due to be demolished

BBC bosses have spent £700,000 refurbishing the corporation’s flagship Welsh headquarters – despite the fact that they are due to be demolished.

The colossal amount of cash was spent “sprucing up” the building’s office space and studios even though they have already been earmarked for the bulldozer.

A shocked insider branded the expenditure “questionable” and suggested that it would be viewed dimly by politicians who believe BBC spending has spiralled out of control.

The revelation comes at a time when the corporation is bracing itself for open war with the new Tory government, after David Cameron appointed a hard-line BBC critic to the post of Culture Secretary.

John Whittingdale, who will be in charge of overseeing the renewal of the corporation’s charter next year, has described the television licence as “worse than the poll tax”.