BBC news is preparing to axe hundreds of jobs

and many of the BBC's renowned foreign bureaux are likely to be scaled down or closed.

One of the BBC's best-known correspondents told The Observer yesterday: 'There isn't a great deal left to cut. There have already been some savings, and the output is expanding. There is more work to do, more podcasts to record and more writing for the internet. I don't know anyone who's having an easy ride.' Former foreign correspondent Martin Bell said: 'The BBC is its own worst enemy when it deploys its resources wastefully, sending rival correspondents to cover the same event or flying presenters overseas to stand on rooftops. If it used them more sensibly, it might find some cuts are unnecessary. But I am a defender of the BBC's independence and once that is under threat it's in trouble.'