BT to create 1,000 new call centre jobs in the UK

BT has announced it will create 1,000 UK jobs as part of a commitment to answer more of its customer calls from within the UK.

The telecoms giant pledged in September that 80% of its consumer customer calls would be dealt with in Britain by the end of this year.

Currently just half of such calls are answered in the UK, with the rest answered in Bangalore and Delhi.

BT said the roles would be created between now and April 2017.

The jobs will be spread across BT's UK call centres, with an initial 100 created in Swansea.

In total, BT's consumer division has committed to spending an extra £80m over two years to improve its performance in answering customer calls.

"We will have created 2,000 permanent UK jobs by the end of this process, including agency transfers, which is a fantastic boost for the UK economy," said BT Consumer customer care director Libby Barr.

Communications regulator Ofcom said in December that BT was one of the most complained about companies for both its TV and broadband services.

BT's announcement comes just days after after the company's takeover of mobile phone network EE was given final clearance by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The deal creates a communications giant covering fixed-line phones, broadband, mobile and TV.