BEING Chancellor of Oxford University and holding other commitments is distracting BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten from his job, a group has claimed.

A joint letter to Culture Minister Sajid Javid outlined the concerns of the BBC Radio Forum, a collection of independent media campaign groups.

The forum, which has about 4,000 members, claimed Lord Patten’s duties as Chancellor, and at other private companies, have hampered his work at the trust.

Chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance Jonathan Isaby, who signed the letter, said: “Lord Patten took on the chairmanship of the BBC at a crucial time.

“It is now clear that he has been an abysmal guarantor of licence fee payers’ interests and money.

“Taxpayers cannot be blamed for thinking his other roles should have taken a back seat in order for him to perform this very important properly.”

Lord Patten, who is due to leave his BBC job next April, is also adviser to three private firms, including Lockheed Martin, where he is a non-executive director.

A BBC Trust spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter, but said it was not new for the chairman to work part-time.

A former Conservative Party chairman, Lord Patten became Chancellor of Oxford University in 2003 and was made chairman of the BBC Trust in 2011.

An Oxford University spokesman said: “Lord Patten is the latest in a long history of distinguished figures who have been elected to the title of Chancellor.

“He is carrying out his functions with same dedication as his predecessors.”