The BBC lacks a senior Turkey correspondent I think - Hugh Sykes has been sent there to cover this weekend's election.
There actually is a correspondent there. Mark Lowen is the Turkey Correspondent and has been there for some time providing excellent coverage. He was live all weekend covering the elections.
Selin Gerit provides bi-lingual backup.
It was a big story for all of the outlets and Chris Morris, a former correspondent, was sent to assist with the coverage as well.
[edit] Just pipped to the post there. I was wondering whether it was worth speculating that there might be a desk waiting for him at Gray's Inn Road, and then got distracted by Jon Snow's Wikipedia entry listing his occupation as "King of the North".
Hugely excited to announce the brilliant Eddie Mair is joining @LBC. He’s an exceptional broadcaster and I’m absolutely delighted he’ll be on our great team from September. #EddieMairOnLBC@globalpic.twitter.com/hKtFT3H9eQ
And Johnny Diamond presenting PM today (Mon 2/7).
Planned, or deliberate? It's normally Caroline Quinn on regular 'Mair Cover'
Or are they trying out a couple of new voices with a view of uncovering the new heir apparent?
Anyway, good news with Eddie heading to 30 Leicester Square. I hope he presents a show akin to 'Midday With Mair' the original lunchtime show on Five Live, because I'm not sure he would be that good as a straight forward IRN/Sky reporter interviews and contributer/MoP callers presenter.
This must be a little unusual for the BBC to have someone publically leaving for a rival but still set to do a few weeks work before hand. In the past a departee in that manner is shuffled off on to gardening leave.
It does all seem very amicable, there seems to have been some measure of orchestration with the BBC announcing his departure in a complimentary way one day, then Global announcing they had hired him the next.
The gardening leave scenario you describe is one that Global are very use to employing themselves.