The BBC has mounted a renewed defence of its licence fee, disputing the costs of a new system of regional news programmes to be broadcast on ITV, which the publicly funded broadcaster fears it will be forced to pay for.

BBC officials told the Financial Times that estimates from Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, that a basic schedule for the service would cost between £40m and £60m a year, while a fuller service would be £80m to £100m, were "fantasy".