THE preferred candidate to take over from Lord Patten as head of the BBC Trust defended the licence fee during a hearing with MPs.

Businesswoman Rona Fairhead told MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee she was not "an establishment figure" and shrugged off reports she was offered the job because the Government wanted a woman in the role.

She said she had been approached by head-hunters and had not discussed her application with anyone in the Government, saying: "I felt the process was, for my mind, a standard process."

Ms Fairhead said the BBC's governance structure was "very complex," but added: "If I didn't think it was workable at all, I wouldn't have taken on the role."

She told MPs the licence fee was the "most appropriate way to fund" the corporation.

She said: "When I look at the current system on a licence fee basis, I think there are some very, very, significant benefits of the licence fee. It ensures independence, it ensures a universal service for a universal fee and I think it ensures creative freedom."

The former chief executive of the Financial Times group is the Government's "preferred candidate" to head up the Trust, replacing Lord Patten who stood down in May.

Ms Fairhead said there was "very little doubt" the BBC "has had a tough time over recent years" but it remained "a vitally important institution in the UK."

She refused to comment on whether her immediate predecessor, a former Conservative MP, had done a good job and said she had never "been politically active."

She told MPs her husband had been a Conservative councillor, adding: "But it's not my husband applying for this role, it's myself."

Ms Fairhead, who confirmed she received a pay-off of more than £1 million when she left her previous role at Pearson, said criticism of excessive pay-offs at the BBC had been "legitimate."

The corporation has been heavily criticised over excessive payouts given to senior staff on leaving.

Ms Fairhead said her pay-off was "clearly a lot of money", adding: "I'm not going to apologise that I came from the private sector but I think when you're in the public sector world you have to look at funding through a different lens."