Sir Alex Ferguson ends BBC boycott

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has agreed to begin talking to the BBC again.

Ferguson, 69, began his boycott of the broadcaster in 2004 after it made allegations about his son, Jason, in a TV documentary.

A joint statement, released on Thursday, follows a meeting between Ferguson, BBC director-general Mark Thompson and BBC North director Peter Salmon.

It said: "The issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.

"Sir Alex will now make himself available to the BBC for Match of the Day, Radio 5 live and other outlets as agreed.

"No further comment will be made by either party on this issue."

In recent years United's assistant manager, Mike Phelan, has given the majority of interviews to BBC programmes such as Match of the Day.