O'Brien resigns

Tamsin O'Brien, head of North-West Regional Programming for the BBC, has announced her resignation from the post.

The news gives no indication if her departure is immediate (but presumably it is), or her reason for standing down. We await news of her successor with interest.

And, of course, the burning question is - what happens now to O'Brien's promise that news and other online services will be provided for Cheshire licence-fee papers at the end of the year? It is to be hoped that the proposals submitted to the BBC Trust will be given the green light, but the arrival of a new broom at BBC Manchester HQ could see a clean sweep.

We will be watching all developments very closely.