“As the BBC's sovereign body, our duty is to ensure that the public who pay for the BBC retain overall control of their BBC.”

Lyons promised that as chairman he would never lose sight of the public's core expectations of editorial independence and quality programmes across television, radio and the internet which inform, educate and entertain.

“I look forward to the exciting challenges of the future and working with my colleagues on the Trust to ensure the BBC provides a quality service to justify the public's continuing support."

"On behalf of all the Trustees, I am delighted to welcome Michael Lyons to the BBC Trust and congratulate him on his appointment as chairman,” said Chitra Bharucha, vice-chairman and acting chairman since November 2006.

“The Trust has made important decisions in our first three months and significant challenges lie ahead. All of us look forward to working with Michael as we go forward."