All employees, numbering at least 2,500, will be suspended until the company reopens “as soon as possible”.

 It is the latest move in successive rafts of spending cuts and tax rises that the government hope will lead the country out of recession.

 “ERT is a case of an exceptional lack of transparency and incredible extravagance. This ends now,” government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said, according to the AFP news agency.

 While all employees would be sacked, he added they would be paid compensation and would be able to apply for work when the corporation relaunches as a smaller, independent public broadcaster.

 The head of ERT’s foreign desk, Odin Linardatou, said the announcement took journalists by surprise.

 Riot police have been deployed in Athens as thousands of people have gathered outside ERT’s headquarters to protest against the decision.

 Authorities confirmed that the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) had been formally disbanded, as transmissions gradually stopped on Tuesday night.

 The Finance Ministry said authorities would “secure'” the corporation’s facilities.

 Unions also voiced strong opposition to the move.

 An engineer at the broadcaster’s multimedia department who gave his name as Yannis said: “The government announced that channels will shut down at midnight – after that the screens will go black.

 “According to the government, from tonight I will be unemployed. It is a complete shock. In four hours’ time I will not have a job.”

 ERT is funded by a direct payment of 4.30 euros added monthly to electricity bills.

 Its supporters say ERT provides an essential service to the Greek people.

 Voice of Russia, BBC