BBC paid director general £788,000

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BBC director general Mark Thompson was paid £788,000 last year, although like other executives he waived his right to an annual bonus.

Mr Thompson's remuneration, which was made up of a £624,000 salary, £9,000 in expenses and a £155,000 pension contribution, was up just £18,000 on the previous year.

He was easily the highest paid BBC executive, earning more than 70% more than his nearest rival in the 12 months to March 31.

Mr Thompson's salary has gone up 11% since his first year in the job, 2004/05, when it was set at £560,000.

It is also 70% higher than the salary received by the previous director general, Greg Dyke, in his final full year, 2002-2003, when his basic pay was £368,000 - though he also took home a bonus of £88,000.

The BBC director general's overall remuneration has more than doubled since 1997-1998, when John Birt received a total of £387,000, including bonus but not pension contributions.

John Smith, the chief executive of commercial division BBC Worldwide, was the next best paid corporation manager last year, collecting £460,000, up from the year before by £16,000.

Mr Smith's pay included a salary of £354,000, an £80,000 bonus and £26,000 in expenses.

The BBC deputy director general, Mark Byford, earned £437,000, made up of £425,000 in salary and £12,000 in expenses.

Jana Bennett, the director of BBC Vision, was paid £433,000, with a £343,000 salary, £20,000 in expenses and £70,000 in pensions-related remuneration.

The head of radio, Jenny Abramsky, pocketed £329,000, including £316,000 in salary and £13,000 in expenses.

The finance director, Zarin Patel, was paid £386,000, while the chief operating officer, Caroline Thomson, collected £361,000.

The new media boss, Ashley Highfield, was paid £359,000, while the marketing chief, Tim Davie, took home £406,000.

The new human resources boss, Stephen Kelly, was given a £75,000 payment when he joined the corporation last October as compensation for loss of income from leaving his previous job, contributing to overall remuneration of £268,000.

Overall executive pay at the BBC increased by just £75,000 in the 12 months to March 31.

Executive pay rose from a combined £4,177,000 last year to £4,252,000 this year.

Source: Guardian