Speaking at a public meeting held at the House of Commons last night, John Tusa, who was head of the World Service from 1986 until 1993, told the assembled crowd that money could be diverted from the Department for International Development.
"The World Service does a lot of what DFID does, and arguably does it better," he said.
Tusa's speech follows previous suggestions that DIFD, which has seen a budget increase, could plug the World Service funding gap. The World Service is undergoing a 16 per cent budget cut as it is transferred from its current funder, the Foreign Office, to the BBC, which will take over responsibility for the service's budget.
Cuts are expected to result in the loss of 650 jobs and the closure of some services with an anticipated loss of 30 million of the World Service's 180 million listeners.
Last night's meeting, organised by the National Union of Journalists as part of its campaign to save the World Service and to attempt to urge the government to rethink the cuts announced following October's spending review, heard from a number of speakers, including journalist Alan Johnston, who was held hostage in Gaza.
The meeting came the day after a commons debate on the scrapping of the BBC Hindi shortwave service, which has received a partial and temporary reprieve while possible alternative funding is explored.
Last week a select committee heard that some of the 60 jobs due to be cut in the Arabic section of the World Service may be saved.
The union said it had received messages of support for its campaign, including one from the president of Macedonia.
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