Culture Secretary Maria Miller has described BBC director general George Entwistle's £450k pay-off as difficult to justify.
The payment equates to a year's salary and works out at more than £8,000 for every day he was in the job of director general.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller said: "This is a large amount of money, and tough to justify considering the circumstances of Mr Entwistle's departure and his contractual arrangements. The Trust will need to justify this – it is accountable to licence fee payers in ensuring value for money, and we expect it to have considered that carefully.
“The BBC is a global British institution, and above all else it is vital that it focuses on restoring its credibility. The Trust needs to act swiftly to ensure that the management and leadership issues in the Corporation are resolved.
“I felt that the Trust was slow off the mark in responding to the crisis but that it is now acting decisively.
“We must not lose sight of the inquiries at the heart of all this. They remain of the utmost importance.”
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