British PM questions BBC chief's payoff

LONDON (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron believes the payoff agreed for former BBC director-general George Entwistle is "hard to justify", but said it was a matter for the broadcaster, his office said on Monday.

His comments follow a chorus of criticism over the reported £1.3 million (S$2.58 million) payoff for Mr Entwistle, who dramatically resigned on Saturday over a BBC report wrongly implicating a politician in child abuse.

"Clearly it's hard to justify a sizeable payoff of that sort but it's a matter for the BBC Trust and it's for them to justify it to the licence fee payers," a spokesman for Mr Cameron told reporters.

The package includes a year's salary of £450,000 and a £877,000 pension plan, reports suggest, despite Mr Entwistle only holding the post for 54 days.