A shortage of funds was the principal cause of deadly C-diff outbreaks at three Kent hospitals, according to the former chairman of the trust at the centre of the scandal.

James Lee was speaking to the BBC television programme Panorama, which looked at the superbug at hospitals across Britain, drawing on the experience of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

The trust was heavily criticised by the Healthcare Commission after a six-month investigation revealed 90 people died of C-diff in outbreaks between 2004 and 2006.

Among those interviewed were relatives of those who died, current nursing staff and consultants, as well as Mr Lee.

Former chief executive, Rose Gibb, who is suing the trust for £250,000, declined an interview but sent a letter in which she said management and the board inherited problems and were subject to tremendous pressure by the Department of Health to meet targets.

Mr Lee said: "Clearly management failed, but money was at the heart of this and the trust was scratching and scraping for funds - that was the culture of the NHS."

The programme also gave the trust a chance to show changes it had made, since October 2007, when the Healthcare Commission's report was published, with filming taking place in the C-diff isolation wards and showing a deep clean.

Panorama quoted research by Prof Richard James from the University of Nottingham, which revealed in Britain there are 10 times more cases and deaths of over 65s from C-diff than in any other country.

Scientists also called on the Government to put more money into understanding the superbug and how it spreads.