A SUSSEX MP has branded the BBC “bloated and careless” for spending up to £60 a time on taxis to ferry guests to and from its studios.

Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, uncovered the travel costs after he was picked up by one of the Beeb’s cabs.

The figures, released by the corporation under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the bill for chauffeuring guests to TV and radio studios came in at £1.5million - up 53%.

Nationally, licence fee-payers forked out £980,000 on cabs for contributors.

Mr Baker said he was picked up in Lewes in a Brighton taxi before being driven to the BBC’s Queen’s Road studio to appear on a national programme.

He was then driven back to Lewes and thetaxi returned to Brighton, meaning the driver had done the journey twice at a cost of £60.

Mr Baker said: “The BBC still hasn't learnt that it has a duty to the licence payer to keep costs down, and a duty to the environment to keep carbon emissions down.

“The bloated and careless increase in the cost of ferrying guests to studios shows that the organisation has yet to appreciate the need for financial and environmental responsibility.”

The transport spokesman, whose Lewes home is ten miles away from the Brighton studio, said a return train ticket for the same journey costs £3.90.

Mr Baker said: “If I say I want to take the train, they seem amazed and flummoxed and unsure how, if at all, I can reclaim the ticket price.

“This simply isn't good enough. The BBC should always make their guests aware of public transport options, which in any case often provides a more predictable arrival time than a journey by road.”

The BBC admitted that in the last financial year the cost of transporting guests and contributors to BBC buildings was a staggering £1,509,163.

This was up from £981,736 in 2004/2005, £1,256,681 in 2005/2006 and £1,238,279 in 2006/2007.

The £4,130-a-day cost is equivalent to spending 11,000 TV licences on taxis.

A BBC spokesman said: “We constantly monitor the use of taxis to ensure we negotiate the best deals with suppliers and keep track of how taxis are used.

“Like all organisations the BBC is facing increased costs due to the economic climate with, for example, the price of fuel significantly increased.

“However, by using preferred suppliers, we have protected ourselves against the worst of these price increases as the rates have been held throughout the year.”