A crisis meeting of ITV executives has taken place to discuss a move by shareholders in the television company to oust its chairman, an industry source said yesterday.

ITV is to become Britain's main terrestrial commercial television company through the as yet uncompleted merger of Carlton Communications and Granada.

Yesterday, several newspapers printed extracts from a strongly worded letter which they said was sent by shareholders representing more than 30 per cent of ITV.

The letter called for Mr Michael Green, chairman of Carlton and chairman designate of ITV, to be replaced by an independent from outside the merging businesses companies, and gave the company just a few days to comply.

"We strongly support the merger of Carlton and Granada but our view is that an independent non-executive chairman from outside the group should be appointed to take on the chairman's role when the merger is complete," said one part of the letter quoted in the Observer newspaper.

"We are setting 12 noon on October 21 as the deadline for the receipt of satisfactory undertakings from both companies," said quotes in the Sunday Telegraph. "Failing receipt of satisfactory undertakings we will take immediate steps to to publicise our initiative and will give consideration to all other measures open to us to ensure compliance."

The shareholders involved include Fidelity, Morley Fund Managers, Legal & General, Isis, Deutsche Asset Management, Standard Life Investors, and UBS Global Asset Management.

A Carlton spokesman declined to comment.

Granada could not be reached for comment. - (Reuters)