THE BBC has denied astonishing claims by sacked television presenter Laurie Mayer that the Tunbridge Wells studios are ruled by a "climate of fear".

Mr Mayer, 56, was fired last week just minutes before he was due to co-present the evening flagship programme BBC South East Today. He claims Laura Ellis, the regional chief, summoned him to her office and told him ratings were "terrible" and he was to blame.

The veteran broadcaster who has presented the BBC Breakfast News, the BBC Six O'Clock News, Sky News and been an aide to Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed, said management was also unhappy with him for being a "whistleblower". He took up the cause of young reporters who he claimed were "terrified" of speaking against bosses.

A few days after his dismissal, Mr Mayer wrote a first-person article in the Mail on Sunday reeling off a list of complaints about the alleged management culture in Tunbridge Wells which, he claimed, created a climate of fear.

And he said the viewer was "short-changed" because programme quality suffered. "I saw able, keen young staff reduced to nervous wrecks," he wrote.

A BBC spokesman said: "We do not recognise the circumstances related by Mr Mayer and completely refute the allegations made by him. We wish to add that no formal complaint to be dealt with under the BBC's grievance procedure has been made by any individual or collective group at BBC South East since it was set up.

"This is despite active encouragement to staff to air any problems or grievances they might have."

Mr Mayer told the Kent Messenger newspaper the Tunbridge Wells studios combined ultra modern technology with "medieval" labour relations.

Mr Mayer said he took up the cause of young broadcasters but insisted he was not a "trouble-maker" or "stirrer."

He went on: "Everyone knows I'm easy to work with. All I did was draw to their attention this injustice because kids came to me in tears and they had nobody else they felt they could turn to."

According to a studio source, Mr Mayer has a lot of backing from staff. "Laurie is being used as a scapegoat," said the source. "Laurie just stood up for people in the office. He's been brilliant."

Mr Mayer told the Kent Messenger how much he had enjoyed working in Kent - and how shattered he was by the decision to sack him.

He said he felt he was becoming part of the community and was beginning to make celebrity appearances at special events.

He added: "It was a dream job for me and I didn't want it to end like this."

Mr Mayer was hired in April last year to challenge Meridian Tonight's domination of the local evening television ratings, but problems with new technology and training delayed the launch of BBC South East Today until September.

He claimed studio morale was "shot to pieces" and managers wanted a "bunch of yes people."

He added: "I'm sorry, I just couldn't tolerate that. The minute it was made plain to me they wanted me out, I thought: I've paid the price and lost my job, I may as well at least tell the truth about what's going on and hope that it helps people left behind."

He called on BBC director-general Greg Dyke, whom he knows and called "a decent bloke" to personally sort out the situation.

Mr Mayer felt his position was undermined by the decision to adopt a double-presenter format and team him with Beverly Thompson.