Topped up

And lo, Lord Hall fronted up with an improved pay offer at yesterday's meeting with the BBC unions. Not quite double your money, but a £650 minimum increase for all staff paid below £50k a year and £500 for all staff on more than £50k.

Previously on the table - 1%, or a minimum of £390 for staff on less than £50k and a freeze for all above. Plus 1% on continuing allowances, grade floors and ceilings, and the higher rate of London Weighting (£4,288) extended to people earning less than £30k.  That's been lifted to £35k in new offer.

Union calculators have been in action, and say the new deal means 70% of staff would get a below-inflation pay rise for the sixth year in a row.  Ballots on industrial action/inaction are underway.

The unions are also calling for strike action at BBC Worldwide, where a consultative ballot which closed this week overwhelmingly rejected Tim Davie's 1.3% offer.

• 0900 Thursday update: Management calculators say that almost a quarter of staff - the lowest paid - will get at least 2.4% (the current level of the Retail Price Index of inflation) under the revised deal.