Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, has called for an overhaul of BBC News 24 after an independent report said the channel was too similar to its commercial rivals.

The review, led by the former Financial Times editor Richard Lambert, said that the BBC's board of governors had failed to police the channel and had permitted themselves to be steamrollered by the corporation's management.

The Independent says that News 24 risks closure unless it responds to Jowell's ultimatum by February.