A DIRECTOR of Meridian TV, Jill Cochrane, has defended the broadcaster's decision to modernise and cut jobs.

The decision, triggered by the creation of a single ITV, will cost the jobs of half the workforce, including around 30 in Kent.

Presentation will switch to Hampshire and the studios at New Hythe, near Maidstone, studios will close, although news bureaus will open in Ashford and Maidstone.

The company's also investing £6million in new technology, including a new studio at near Fareham, from where presentation of the flagship news programme Meridian Tonight will come.

Critics claim that the decision undermines Meridian's commitment to local programming. But Ms Cochrane says the broadcaster had to move into the 21st century.