Mr Dyke resigned in the wake of the Hutton Report

The payment represented a year's salary of �375,000, plus a bonus relating to the period he worked before his departure, MediaGuardian.co.uk said.

The website said details of payments to Mr Dyke would be revealed in the BBC's annual report next week.

A BBC spokeswoman said the corporation had no comment on the newspaper claims.

The Guardian said Mr Dyke's bonus was in line with general bonus levels for BBC executives last year.

The BBC's online services have been subjected to close scrutiny

It said bonuses would be shown to be 22% of salary, the same level as the previous year, and less than the 30% of salary that could potentially be awarded.

The Guardian speculated that the annual report, due on Tuesday, would reveal a fall in spending on programmes of �38m.

It said this reflected the "distorting" costs of covering the previous year's Queen's jubilee celebrations and the World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

It also suggested that the BBC would report a �400m deficit in its pension fund - a loss for the second consecutive year.

Criticism

It also claimed evasion of licence fee payments would be shown to have fallen to its lowest level, leading to an extra �42m in revenue.

Mr Dyke resigned from the BBC in January following criticism of the corporation in the Hutton Report.

In his report into the death of scientist Dr David Kelly, Lord Hutton made serious criticism of the BBC's journalistic practices.

The BBC's Neil review, set up in the wake of the Hutton affair, recommended greater emphasis on journalistic training and "core values".

This week, another study, the government-commissioned Graf Report, said the BBC had just under four months to redefine the remit for its online services.

The process of renewing the BBC's royal charter is being led by Mr Dyke's replacement, Mark Thompson, and new chairman Michael Grade.