The BBC Singers have been saved after the corporation backed down on scrapping them. 

The decision to axe the 99-year-old choir sparked a ferocious backlash, with the BBC blaming budget cuts.

Rishi Sunak's Cabinet and the composer Julian Lloyd-Webber led the chorus of criticism, as 140,000 people signed a petition and musicians from across the industry demanded a rethink.

On Friday morning, the BBC finally backed down, saying the Singers will now return to this year's BBC Proms, and will no longer be disbanded on September 30.

The BBC said it would now look at other ways to fund the 20-strong choir to guarantee its future.

The corporation said in a statement: "The BBC has received approaches from a number of organisations offering alternative funding models for the BBC Singers.

"We have agreed with the Musicians’ Union that we will suspend the proposal to close the BBC Singers, while we actively explore these options. If viable, these alternative options would secure the future of the ensemble.

"We can also confirm the Singers will appear in this year’s BBC Proms."

Annual cost less than Gary Lineker salary 

The annual cost of the 20-strong in-house choir is said to be less than the salary of Gary Lineker, the contentious host of Match of the Day.

Jo Laverty, from the Musicians' Union, said: "The weeks since the BBC's announcement have impacted all the individuals affected in the most brutal way.

"We are right behind every member affected, and as we enter negotiation we will be consulting our members in the Singers and BBC Orchestras to ensure the outcome is as positive as possible for them all."

The choir had been poised to give its last performance in July, meaning it would not get to bow out at the world-famous Proms classical music festival, which ends in September.

While the BBC had not provided a figure itself, experts have calculated that the decision would save the corporation less than £1.5 million.

Outcry has been growing ever since the BBC initially decided to scrap the beloved choir, with concerns raised at the highest level by Oliver Dowden, a former culture secretary, backed the campaign at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, according to sources.

Other senior ministers around the table also expressed their support for the campaign to save the Singers, while some were left unconvinced by the BBC’s argument that it had to axe the group because of budget cuts.