British broadcaster the BBC will next week publish its annual report and accounts. And the revelation that ex-director-general Greg Dyke received a £456,000 ($844,350; €681,477) farewell package will not make easy reading for some.

Dyke resigned following publication of the Hutton report which attacked the BBC's journalistic standards prior to the invasion of Iraq. Also resigning in the report's wake was BBC chairman Gavyn Davies, who received not a penny's compensation from the broadcaster.

In addition to the severance package, Dyke also received a £321,000 salary and a £32,000 bonus.

Payments to the BBC's board of governors were up by 8% from last year to £378,000, while top executive directors received £4 million, only 1.9% more than the previous financial year.

Mark Byford, deputy director-general, received £384,000 including a one-off £100, 000 'thank you' for his time as acting director-general.

As programme spending climbed 20% to £2.7bn (following a £600m rise in content spending over the last four years), the BBC raked in an extra £140m in licence fees. The income growth will no doubt feature in the finishing touches of the corporation's Royal Charter renewal submission.


Data sourced from: Financial Times; additional content by WARC staff