Cash strapped BBC bosses may have to fork out in the region of £3 million, in order to send their sports staff to cover the 2012 Olympics in London.

The TV channel are moving 1,500 workers from its London headquarters to its MediaCity base in Salford in 2011 but just a year later will have to pay to move a large portion of those staff back down to the capital to cover the huge sporting event.

One Beeb insider told The Sun: “This is the most ridiculous piece of planning.

“They should delay the move by a year or two rather than spend millions in extra cash.

“The BBC is already under fire for wasting money on expenses and now they are about to waste even more. It beggars belief.”

Shadow Culture MP Philip Davies said: “It is just ludicrous. The taxpayer will be paying for hotels and travel.

“It’s the type of thing that could only happen at the BBC, because it has a ‘money is no object’ culture. Businesses move north to save money. The BBC will be the first to relocate and cost itself more money.”