By . Peter Campbell, City Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 12:01 EST, 2 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:45 EST, 2 August 2013 . Overpaid: Moya Greene has to pay back the the £250,000 and any capital gains that was made on the property that she bought with it . A controversial £250,000 payment to help the boss of Royal Mail buy a house will have to be repaid to taxpayers after Vince Cable blocked the move, it has emerged. The business secretary, who has to sign off on any pay increase for the head of the postal service, was kept in the dark for more than a year about the huge sum, documents reveal. ‘I would not have approved it,’ Mr Cable said last night. The debacle is a major embarrassment for the company, which is preparing for a £3billion privatisation later this year. Canadian Moya Greene was brought in by ministers three years ago to help shake up the Royal Mail ahead of the sell-off. Last year her package of pay and perks rose by 33 per cent to almost £1.5million, Royal Mail’s accounts last night showed. This included a one-off £250,000 cash sum to help her get on the UK housing ladder - even though she already receives up to £127,000 a year in ‘relocation payments’ because she moved from Canada. She used the money to help buy a house in London in April 2012, sources close to the company confirmed. But Mr Cable only learned about the money when presented with a draft copy of the company’s annual accounts on July 5 this year - a full 15 months later. He immediately demanded that Ms Greene pay the money back - and that taxpayers were reimbursed for any capital gains made on the property since its purchase. A source close to the business secretary said: ‘He felt very strongly about this when he found out.’ Mr Cable said: ‘I am pleased that this unapproved payment is being returned. The company acted quickly to rectify the situation. ‘A mistake was made in not seeking my approval: I would not have approved it. ‘The chairman is sorry; the payment is being returned. I now regard the matter closed.’ He added: ‘Moya Greene is an exceptionally good chief executive and she and the board have my full support to take the company forward.’ Ms Greene has already paid £130,000 in tax on the payment, and will now have to pay back the remaining £120,000, either when the company floats on the stock market or at the end of the financial year. The company has also agreed to pay back any capital gains made on the property. Although Ms Greene’s basic pay was frozen at £498,000, her £1.5million pacakge included a performance-related bonus of £399,000 and £200,000 in lieu of a pension. Her contractual entitlements include two return trips to her native Canada a year, as well as medical cover and financial advice. Fellow Canadian Mark Carney, the new Bank of England governor, receives £250,000 a year in housing allowance as part of his contract. Embarrassing: Business Secretary Vince Cable (left) said he would not have approved the payment and it was a 'mistake' that he was not asked. Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna (right) said an apology is not enough . Royal Mail’s pay committee is led by . Orna Ni-Chionna, who is also the senior independent director at . collapsed music retailer HMV. A . statement in the Royal Mail accounts said: ‘In the exceptional . circumstances of the chief executive’s relocation and commitment to the . UK, additional assistance, on the purchase of a home, was offered given . the difference in residential costs between the UK and Canada. ‘The . chief executive was not involved in the decision nor does she engage . with Government about payments made to her by the company.’ Even though the pay committee admitted it should have sought Mr Cable’s approval, it added: ‘The committee considers it made its decision in good faith in exceptional circumstances.’ Mrs Ni-Chionna, who is married to former City regulator Lord Adair Turner, was paid £60,000 last year for sitting on the Royal Mail board, including £10,000 for chairing the group’s pay committee. Fellow Canadian: Governor of the bank of England Mark Carney is given £250,000 a year as a housing allowance . A spokesman for the Royal Mail last night said: ‘The remuneration committee appreciates that executive remuneration is a sensitive subject in the current economic environment. ‘Under Moya Greene’s leadership, . Royal Mail has been transformed.’ Mario Dunn, from campaign group Save . Our Royal Mail, said: ‘Vince Cable was absolutely right to insist this . allowance was repaid. ‘Yet . he also tells us that it is necessary to privatise Royal Mail precisely . so it can undertake this kind of activity without the government . interfering. ‘Mr Cable . cannot have his cake and eat it. By setting Royal Mail free it will be . able to award massive salaries to its Executives without any . accountability.’ Dave . Ward, from the Communication Workers Union, said: ‘Ordinary postal . workers will be appalled at this excessive, inflation-busting increase . in bonuses for Moya Greene. ‘These pay and bonus figures make Royal Mail’s below-inflation pay offer look even more insulting than it was originally.’ Shadow . business secretary Chuka Umunna said: 'This was a shocking decision . that very much calls into question the judgement of the remuneration . committee. 'The chairman needs to account for the decision that was made. 'It is not enough to have the secretary of state intervene and then for Royal Mail to issue an apology. 'We need a full explanation from the remuneration committee chairman if she is to command confidence going forward.'
Business Secretary Vince Cable has to sign off on any pay increases for Royal Mail boss .
He was kept in the dark about the payments for more than a year .
Embarrassing set of events for executive who earns £1.5million .
By . Peter Campbell, City Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 12:01 EST, 2 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:45 EST, 2 August 2013 . Overpaid: Moya Greene has to pay back the the £250,000 and any capital gains that was made on the property that she bought with it . A controversial £250,000 payment to help the boss of Royal Mail buy a house will have to be repaid to taxpayers after Vince Cable blocked the move, it has emerged. The business secretary, who has to sign off on any pay increase for the head of the postal service, was kept in the dark for more than a year about the huge sum, documents reveal. ‘I would not have approved it,’ Mr Cable said last night. The debacle is a major embarrassment for the company, which is preparing for a £3billion privatisation later this year. Canadian Moya Greene was brought in by ministers three years ago to help shake up the Royal Mail ahead of the sell-off. Last year her package of pay and perks rose by 33 per cent to almost £1.5million, Royal Mail’s accounts last night showed. This included a one-off £250,000 cash sum to help her get on the UK housing ladder - even though she already receives up to £127,000 a year in ‘relocation payments’ because she moved from Canada. She used the money to help buy a house in London in April 2012, sources close to the company confirmed. But Mr Cable only learned about the money when presented with a draft copy of the company’s annual accounts on July 5 this year - a full 15 months later. He immediately demanded that Ms Greene pay the money back - and that taxpayers were reimbursed for any capital gains made on the property since its purchase. A source close to the business secretary said: ‘He felt very strongly about this when he found out.’ Mr Cable said: ‘I am pleased that this unapproved payment is being returned. The company acted quickly to rectify the situation. ‘A mistake was made in not seeking my approval: I would not have approved it. ‘The chairman is sorry; the payment is being returned. I now regard the matter closed.’ He added: ‘Moya Greene is an exceptionally good chief executive and she and the board have my full support to take the company forward.’ Ms Greene has already paid £130,000 in tax on the payment, and will now have to pay back the remaining £120,000, either when the company floats on the stock market or at the end of the financial year. The company has also agreed to pay back any capital gains made on the property. Although Ms Greene’s basic pay was frozen at £498,000, her £1.5million pacakge included a performance-related bonus of £399,000 and £200,000 in lieu of a pension. Her contractual entitlements include two return trips to her native Canada a year, as well as medical cover and financial advice. Fellow Canadian Mark Carney, the new Bank of England governor, receives £250,000 a year in housing allowance as part of his contract. Embarrassing: Business Secretary Vince Cable (left) said he would not have approved the payment and it was a 'mistake' that he was not asked. Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna (right) said an apology is not enough . Royal Mail’s pay committee is led by . Orna Ni-Chionna, who is also the senior independent director at . collapsed music retailer HMV. A . statement in the Royal Mail accounts said: ‘In the exceptional . circumstances of the chief executive’s relocation and commitment to the . UK, additional assistance, on the purchase of a home, was offered given . the difference in residential costs between the UK and Canada. ‘The . chief executive was not involved in the decision nor does she engage . with Government about payments made to her by the company.’ Even though the pay committee admitted it should have sought Mr Cable’s approval, it added: ‘The committee considers it made its decision in good faith in exceptional circumstances.’ Mrs Ni-Chionna, who is married to former City regulator Lord Adair Turner, was paid £60,000 last year for sitting on the Royal Mail board, including £10,000 for chairing the group’s pay committee. Fellow Canadian: Governor of the bank of England Mark Carney is given £250,000 a year as a housing allowance . A spokesman for the Royal Mail last night said: ‘The remuneration committee appreciates that executive remuneration is a sensitive subject in the current economic environment. ‘Under Moya Greene’s leadership, . Royal Mail has been transformed.’ Mario Dunn, from campaign group Save . Our Royal Mail, said: ‘Vince Cable was absolutely right to insist this . allowance was repaid. ‘Yet . he also tells us that it is necessary to privatise Royal Mail precisely . so it can undertake this kind of activity without the government . interfering. ‘Mr Cable . cannot have his cake and eat it. By setting Royal Mail free it will be . able to award massive salaries to its Executives without any . accountability.’ Dave . Ward, from the Communication Workers Union, said: ‘Ordinary postal . workers will be appalled at this excessive, inflation-busting increase . in bonuses for Moya Greene. ‘These pay and bonus figures make Royal Mail’s below-inflation pay offer look even more insulting than it was originally.’ Shadow . business secretary Chuka Umunna said: 'This was a shocking decision . that very much calls into question the judgement of the remuneration . committee. 'The chairman needs to account for the decision that was made. 'It is not enough to have the secretary of state intervene and then for Royal Mail to issue an apology. 'We need a full explanation from the remuneration committee chairman if she is to command confidence going forward.'
£250,000 payment to help the boss of Royal Mail emerged. The business secretary, who has to sign off on any pay increase for the head of the postal service, was kept in the dark for more than a year about the huge sum, documents reveal. Secretary Vince Cable (left) said he would not