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Viewers of the BBC iPlayer will be forced to prove they have a TV licence, in a major shake-up of the broadcaster announced today.

The BBC Trust will be scrapped, to be replaced with an appointed board - and regulation of its output will be handed to Ofcom.

It means the broadcaster will be regulated by an external organisation for the first time.

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale announced the changes as he published a Government White Paper on the future of the BBC.

The Paper will force the BBC to reveal the names of presenters earning more than £450,000 a year - the amount earned by director general Tony Hall.

Among those who may have to disclose their pay bands include Gary Lineker , Graham Norton and the new Top Gear host Chris Evans .

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale told MPs yesterday he wanted “to see as much transparency as possible” on how the BBC spends licence fee payers’ money.

Under the new rules the broadcaster will have to publish all those who earn a certain amount in salary bands from £450,000 upwards.

(Image: BBC)

The White Paper will also be an major overhaul of the way the Corporation is governed but the BBC’s independence will be guaranteed.

And it will close the loophole that allows viewers to watch the BBC on phones and tablets without paying the licence fee.

Mr Whittingdale told MPs that the next BBC Charter will run for 11 years and the Corporation will be able to raise the licence fee in line with inflation from 2017.

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Other measures include handing oversight of the BBC to the Ofcom watchdog.

In the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, the BBC Trust will be replaced by a new board, with at least half of its members appointed by the broadcaster.

The changes will also give the green light to BBC studios so it can make programmes for other broadcasters.

(Image: Phil Harris/Daily Mirror)

But Mr Whittingdale is understood to have backtracked on a threat to stop the BBC chasing ratings by putting popular shows such as Strictly up against commercial rivals.

Instead, in a “very British compromise” the new BBC board will monitor if the Corporation is abusing its dominance.

And in a victory for Sir Lenny Henry there will be a new requirement in the Charter to “enshrine diversity” and make sure the BBC reflects the “nation it serves.”

A Government source said: “The BBC is a world-class broadcaster and one of our country’s greatest institutions. Our plans will mean that the BBC will keep making the great programmes we love and will continue to thrive in the future.”

Mr Whittingdale has faced accusations he is trying to run down the BBC by backing the BBC board with Tory cronies and ordering it to stop the race for ratings.

But under pressure from Conservative backbenchers, the Charter will include specific clauses enshrining the BBC’s independence.

(Image: PA)

The Culture Secretary also pointed to the new 11-year Charter as evidence the corporation will be free from political interference.

He told MPs: “The BBC has a very trusted place in British life and does a huge amount to support creative industries, and its global influence is enormous. We agree on those things and I am determined to preserve them.”

Tory MP Damian Green, a former TV journalist, had warned of a Tory revolt if the White Paper compromised the BBC’s independence.

In the Commons, Mr Whittingdale came under pressure from several Conservatives to guarantee the BBC would remain free from government control.

He replied: “I have always made it clear that editorial independence is an incredibly important principle and that we will do nothing to undermine it.”

Shadow Culture Secretary Maria Eagle MP said: “The BBC is one of the most valued and successful institutions ever created in the UK, and it belongs to the people of this country who pay for it.

“It has levels of public approval that any politician would die for, and it is the linchpin of a unique ecology of broadcasting in this country, which enables the creative industries in Britain to grow at twice the level of the rest of the economy, exporting more content and employing more people than its size would suggest possible.

“It enables the UK to project soft power, and it creates good will for Britain throughout the world.”

The White Paper proposes the BBC opens programme-making to greater competition by removing the in-house guarantee for all television content spend, except for news and news-related current affairs.

Mr Whittingdale said: "The BBC already allows up to 50% of its content to be competed for by the independent sector.

"The Government now intends that the remaining 50% in-house guarantee should be removed for all BBC content except news and related current affairs output. Unless there is clear evidence that it would not provide value for money, all productions will be tendered."

He said this would open up hundreds of millions of pounds of production expenditure to competition.

Mr Whittingdale added: "This will not only benefit the creative industries but it is fundamentally a good thing for viewers and listeners, with BBC commissioning editors given greater freedom to pick the most creative ideas and broadcast the highest quality programmes."

Culture minister Ed Vaizey tweeted after Mr Whittingdale's statement: "We've listened to views of public & industry, including the 192,000 consultation responses & other evidence."

Mr Whittingdale said: "Our reforms give the BBC much greater independence from Government in editorial matters, in its governance, in setting budgets and through a longer charter period.

"They secure the funding of the BBC and will help it develop new funding models for the future.

"At the same time these reforms will assist the BBC to fulfil its own stated desire to become more distinctive and to better reflect the diverse nature of its audience.

"They place the BBC at the heart of the creative industries as a partner of the local and commercial sectors, not a rival.

"The BBC will operate in a more robust and more clearly defined governance and regulatory framework and it will be more transparent and accountable to the public it serves and to rely on the BBC to be the very best it can possibly be, so that it can inform, educate and entertain for many years to come."

Labour's David Lammy said: "The Government’s announcement that diversity will be enshrined in the Charter as one of the BBC’s Public Purpose is welcome news and is a vital first step in ensuring that the BBC reflects and represents its audience both in terms of on-screen portrayal and off-screen in the BBC’s workforce – from the newsroom right up to the boardroom.

"It is time that the BBC’s founding mission was updated so that it becomes to inform, educate, entertain and reflect, and today’s announcement is a clear victory for campaigners who have long been calling on the BBC to make good on years of good intentions.”