Ex-BBC boss denies ‘greed’ in £949,000 pay-off

Mr Byford, whose salary was £475,000, received a total of £949,000 when he was made redundant by the corporation.

His payment is one of several which have drawn widespread criticism of the BBC.

But when asked on BBC Radio 5 Live whether he would pay back some of the sum, Mr Byford responded: “I have done nothing wrong.”

He told Victoria Derbyshire’s show: “I appreciate obviously and understand that it was a lot of money. I appreciate the concern and criticism about the executive pay-offs.”

But he added: “I absolutely don’t think it was greed on my part at all.”

Mr Byford, who was on the show to talk about his new book, a war story, said: “I lost my job. I was made redundant. I was given the terms I was given by the BBC. I left when I was told to leave by the BBC.

“After 32 years of working there, where I was devoted to the corporation, the last thing that I would ever think or feel was that I would want to have greed.”

Former director-general Mark Thompson told the Public Accounts Committee that the pay-off to Mr Byford, who left in 2011, was needed so he would remain “focused” on his job and not be distracted.

But when asked whether he really needed an extra £500,000 to stay focused, Mr Byford replied: “That’s his word... I wanted to do what the BBC wanted me to do.”