that are levelled at the corporation – both those that are justified and those that are not. But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his experience as a former BBC journalist will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild its reputation in this area."

He will be paid £450,000 a year – the same as his predecessor, but substantially below the sums paid to Mark Thompson, who left the BBC in September.

The BBC Trust said it took the unusual approach of making a direct approach from to Hall and he accepted without the broadcaster speaking to anybody else. Hall did not apply for the job when it last became vacant as a result of Mark Thompson's departure earlier this year – partly because at 61he felt he was too old.

Patten said that the accelerated recruitment process was justified in the interests of licence fee payers, with the chairman noting that "Tony Hall wasn't available" when Entwistle was appointed in July.

Alan Yentob, the BBC's creative director, said that he believed that Hall was "the right man to run the BBC" given that he has both experience of the organisation and spent "10 years outside the BBC". At 61, Yentob said that he believed that Hall had "the judgment and wisdom" to run the BBC – and that his age was not a barrier to running an organisation despite the intense pressures that saw off Entwistle.

Hall has run the Opera House since April 2001 but had been telling close friends he was looking for