The BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has been given a £75k pay rise, despite the national broadcaster pleading poverty and making savings elsewhere.
The rise, which equates to a whopping 16 percent, has been slammed by MPs, with one labelling it "impossible to justify" at the same times as the BBC is cutting services and jobs to the bone.
Nigel Mills MP, speaking to The Sun, said: "The public's view could not be clearer — salaries for top executives and stars are too high at the BBC.
"The idea the person running the BBC earns nearly four times as much as the Prime Minister is baffling. It’s impossible to justify."
With the BBC now compelling over-75s to pay the TV licence fee, Mr Mills also drew the all-too-obvious conclusion that Davie was cashing in on the misery of hard-pressed pensioners.
"There is no doubt that would have helped. When you're taking money from the over-75s for your service, you should look closely at where that goes", the Conservative MP for Amber Valley said.
A BBC spokesman, trying to justify the DG's windfall, said his salary was "well below the market rate for this type of role", drawing meaningless comparisons with ITV Chief Executive Carolyn McCall who earns £833,000 for leading the commercial broadcaster.
The BBC, which receives around £3.6 billion in TV licence revenue, is seeking to make £951 million in savings by 2022.
According to the Value for Audiences report, released earlier this year, the broadcaster wants to achieve this by "driving efficiencies" and "cutting overheads" - in other words slashing jobs, selling properties and reducing services.
Speaking about the BBC's grand plan, Davie said: "The BBC has made big changes to ensure we provide outstanding value. We are smarter spenders and savers and more efficient than ever before, but there is more to do."
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