The BBC spent £1.4m more than it was contractually required to in making 22 severance payments to staff.

The National Audit Office examined 150 payouts between 2009-2012. In a report published in July, the government spending watchdog studied a sample of 60 severance packages and found 14 cases in which payouts exceeded the employee’s entitlemt.

In response to a request from the BBC Trust and the Commons Public Accounts Committee, the NAO examined the remaining 90 cases and found eight more instances in which the BBC had paid over the odds, bringing the total cost to £1.4m.