The man in charge of the BBC move to Salford is one of three top bosses who have been dropped from the corporation’s executive board.

Peter Salmon, who is leading the massive BBC North project, will step down from the board as part of director general Mark Thompson’s plan to slim down his top tier of managers.

The move will be announced to all BBC staff today and follows yesterday’s announcement of the departure of Thompson’s deputy Mark Byford who is being made redundant.

It will be seen by many as a blow for the move to Salford and follows a summer of bad headlines which included the human resources director for the project quitting because he did not want to move north.

But it is understood that Mr Salmon will report directly to the director general Thompson and the Salford move will carry on at the same pace.

A BBC insider said: "It is business as usual. The commitment to this really important project doesn’t change."

The other executives who will be stepping down are Lucy Adams, the director of BBC people, and Sharon Baylay, who is in charge of marketing.

The BBC’s flagship shows including Match Of The Day, Breakfast and Blue Peter, will begin moving to MediaCity, in Salford Quays, next year.

Mr Salmon himself made headlines this summer after announcing he would not be moving his family north initially but renting a flat close to MediaCity ‘for the moment’ and commuting to London.

The creation of the BBC’s northern headquarters has been hit by rumours staff did not want to move away from London.

In an M.E.N. interview Mr Salmon, who has been involved in programme making in Manchester and London for 20 years, accused critics of a ‘mud-throwing campaign’ against Salford.

He said it was ‘unforgivable’ for London-based media to peddle old stereotypes and mislead people into thinking the city was an undesirable place to work.

Of the 2,300 staff moving to MediaCity roughly a third are already at Oxford Road, a third will move from London and a third will be made up of new jobs - there are now nearly 25,000 applications for those jobs.

He said stories suggesting BBC bosses, including himself, were not committed to the project were ‘outrageous’.

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