John Smith, former head of BBC Worldwide, has pocketed an £800k payout from the public service broadcaster just one week after its new director general announced plans to cap such largesse at £150k, according to reports in the Telegraph.
Smith’s generous package includes one year’s notice of £447k in addition to bonus payments of up to £386k based on the findings of a remuneration committee attended by Hall - on top of his £4m pension pot.
The eye watering sum comes just days after Hall appeared before MPs to announce that he would impose a £150k cap on future payments due to mounting public anger over perceived profligacy of amongst their top brass.
This was seen as a public rebuke to Lord Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, who sanctioned a £450 pay out to Hall’s disgraced predecessor, George Entwistle.
Smith has been praised in some quarters however foe overseeing a doubling in revenue of the BBCs commercial operations, despite the disastrous purchase of Lonely Planet for £130m, subsequently offloaded for just £51.5m.