BBC staff hurriedly raised thousands of pounds today for a full-page newspaper advertisement expressing their dismay at the departure of Greg Dyke, their former Director-General.

The advert is expected to appear in The Daily Telegraph tomorrow.

Backed by reporters, presenters and other BBC employees, it is expected to say that they remain determined in the face of the damning Hutton report to pursue the truth through investigative journalism.

Staff at two of the BBC's main offices in London yesterday staged noisy protests at Mr Dyke's resignation after the release of the Hutton report which criticised the corporation's editorial systems and complaints handling.

Gavyn Davies, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, had already resigned.

Internal e-mail campaigns today asked BBC staff to put at least £5 in buckets being taken round their offices and to sign a petition.

Newspaper deadlines meant that the fundraising was a race against time, and staff said that while support for Mr Dyke was strong, some only saw the e-mails this afternoon.

They had expected to raise up to £10,000, several thousand pounds short of the normal rate for a page in a broadsheet national newspaper.

But it The Daily Telegraph is believed to have offered the workers a cut-price deal late this afternoon, ensuring that their message would be published.

"This is a staff initiative and will be paid for by staff personally, not by the BBC," said workers in the Make it Happen team - a project set up by Greg Dyke to sweep away bureaucracy in the corporation.

The suggested content of the ad, in the form of a statement from reporters, presenters, contributors and other BBC employees, was hammered out in meetings last night.

It said: "Greg Dyke stood for brave, independent BBC journalism that was fearless in its search for the truth. We are resolute that the BBC should not step back from its determination to investigate the facts in pursuit of the truth.

"Through his passion and integrity Greg Dyke inspired us to make programmes of the highest quality and creativity.

"We are dismayed by Greg's departure, but we are determined to maintain his achievements and his vision for an independent organisation that serves the public above all else."

BBC journalists today attacked their governors’ apology to the Government and rejected any suggestion that the Corporation’s editorial system was flawed.

Members of the National Union of Journalists from BBC newsrooms in London urged their management to mount a “robust defence” of the corporation's journalistic independence.

“The NUJ regrets the resignation of Greg Dyke and distances itself from the unreserved apology issued by Lord Ryder,” the journalists said in a resolution.

The journalists said that to mark their anger at the “unfair and one-sided” conclusions reached by Lord Hutton they will join a rally next Thursday aimed at asserting their independence.

Journalists will also lobby MPs to demonstrate that they will not accept any attempt to compromise the BBC’s independence.

The NUJ said that BBC staff in every centre throughout the country will join a series of protests next Thursday lunchtime.

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