Video: BBC Crisis: George Entwistle's payoff is 'unjustified', says Maria Miller Mrs Miller said the £450,000 severance pay for outgoing BBC director general George Entwistle was "tough to justify considering the circumstances of Mr Entwistle's departure and his contractual arrangements." But BBC chairman Lord Patten has already said that he believes the pay-off was justified. Mr Entwistle resigned on Saturday, after a Newsnight report led to former Tory treasurer Lord McAlpine being wrongly accused of child abuse. He had been in the job for just 54 days and had been entitled to six months' pay upon departure under the terms of his contract. Labour has been granted an urgent government statement on the issue in Parliament.