BBC News Channel workers who were caught sleeping at their desks have been slammed for wasting taxpayers’ money.
A colleague collated evidence of several journalists brazenly asleep on the job in the newsroom at Broadcasting House, London.
The furious whistleblower said it was ‘very difficult to work with someone snoring next to you’.
A man sleeps at his desk as he slumps back in his chair at the BBC’s newsroom at Broadcasting House
Another has a flat cap pulled over his face as he leans back in his chair while a woman works away in the background
The pictures show BBC staff asleep at their desks (right) and one man even has a face mask on covering his eyes as he catches up on some sleep on an office chair (left)
The whistleblower eventually lost patience with what the source described as workshy colleagues and decided to make the collection of photographs public
The pictures show BBC staff asleep at their desks and one man even has a face mask on covering his eyes as he catches up on some sleep on an office chair.
Another has a flat cap pulled over his face as he leans back in his chair while a woman works away in the background.
Two men were pictured slumped in their chairs fast asleep and another used his desk as a pillow for forty winks.
The whistleblower eventually lost patience with what the source described as workshy colleagues and decided to make the collection of photographs public.
They told The Sun: ‘In a 12-hour shift I would estimate some staff do around an hour of work.’
‘You can look around and there are three or four people in a row with their feet up and soundly asleep.
‘Viewers and licence payers will be shocked by the wastage.’
The source claimed they saw someone asleep at their desks every night and despite workers on the night shift getting an hour and a half for a break, some still abused the system.
They said some of those sleeping on the job were seasoned journalists who have been at the corporation for decades and added: ‘I’m not for privatisation usually but the BBC needs it.
‘You’d never get away with sleeping at your desk in another newsroom.’
The source claimed they saw someone asleep at their desks every night and despite workers on the night shift getting an hour and a half for a break, some still abused the system
The whistleblower said some of those sleeping on the job were seasoned journalists who have been at the corporation for decades and added: ‘I’m not for privatisation usually but the BBC needs it’
Politicians waded into the debate with Tory MP Peter Bone saying: ‘It’s extraordinary that licence fee payers are effectively paying for people to have a nice kip at work. Someone at the BBC must get to grips with this’
The BBC responded earlier today and a spokesman said: ‘This is a misleading story about people working a long night shift. When they take a break, whether they walk around the block, go for a cup of tea or just simply rest, that’s surely up to them’
Politicians waded into the debate with Tory MP Peter Bone saying: ‘It’s extraordinary that licence fee payers are effectively paying for people to have a nice kip at work. Someone at the BBC must get to grips with this.
‘If it was a private company these people would’ve been sacked.’
The photos were taken over a period between late 2013 and April this year.
The BBC responded earlier today and a spokesman said: ‘This is a misleading story about people working a long night shift. When they take a break, whether they walk around the block, go for a cup of tea or just simply rest, that’s surely up to them.
‘The BBC is hugely grateful to its journalists who work through the night to make sure the country has the best possible news service when it wakes up in the morning.
The BBC, funded by the taxpayer, attempted to make light of the photographs as did a number of its staff.
Its official press office twitter account retweeted an article by the Huffington Post claiming BBC workers who slept on the job were actually doing the right thing.
Robert Coxwell, a TV producer and journalist, posted two pictures of himself wearing trainers and a casual coat pretending to be asleep with a newspaper over his face inside Broadcasting House.
He tweeted, ‘Just starting my shift like…’ with a picture of himself sprawled out outside a door.
After his shift, some hours later, he adopted the same pose and the caption read: ‘…Shift done. Guess I should get up and go home. Did I miss anything?’
Presenter Simon McCoy wrote: ‘Lights lowered. Speakers off. Pillow plumped. Ready for work.’
It was a bold move from the 56-year-old, who became embroiled in a separate sleeping scandal back in 2012 (pictured)
It was a bold move from the 56-year-old, who became embroiled in a separate sleeping scandal back in 2012.
The cameras caught the broadcaster with his head resting on his folded arms just before 8.30am when the BBC’s Breakfast programme switched to the rolling news channel.
Quite what disturbed his slumbers remains a mystery, but he suddenly sat bolt upright and looked sheepish as he tried to regain his composure beside co-presenter Martine Croxall.
Following a number of mocking messages from his Twitter followers asking if he’d had a heavy night, McCoy eventually tweeted: ‘I was not asleep!’
But Miss Croxall told her own followers: ‘Intravenous caffeine now being administered to Simon McCoy.’
She added: ‘There’s no such thing as an incident-free shift with SImon McCoy.’
And viewers continued to remark on the hilarious gaffe on the social networking site as the day went on.
One user, called Vikki B, said: ‘Did I just imagine that? BBC News cuts to the news desk and fella is asleep on the desk and jumps up in shock! Haha.’
BBC bosses said the journalist was ‘caught unawares’ as the cameras moved from the studio where regular sofa presenters Louise Minchin and Charlie Stayt had been quizzing guests.
On Twitter, Mr McCoy later denied falling asleep and said: ‘It was a long desk head-banging that wasn’t meant to be picked up in the BBC1 opt.’