CAMELOT has justified its chief executive's £870,000 payout amid criticisms that the money should have been ploughed into good causes.

Dianne Thompson, of Hammersley Lane, Penn, saw her annual earnings soar to £870,000, including £635,000 in bonuses and benefits in what has been the highest payout to a Camelot director.

A company spokesman denied good causes had suffered as the money belonged to shareholders.

"This year's bonuses were one-off payments and were included in this year's annual report so we could start next year's new licence period with a new slate.

"They are part of our bonus schemes which we put together when we first got the licence. One of which is a staff loyalty scheme implemented in 1997. Conditions such as winning the licence and staff remaining with the company until this September determined the payouts.

"The money was out of shareholders' money and was not good cause money. Our annual bonus scheme is based on whether we meet targets. We predicted we would raise £9 billion for charities but have exceeded this amount by £1.5 billion," he said.

He added that special directors bonuses had now been abolished and that future payouts will be based on personal performance, profit targets, returns to good causes and whether staff meet all the requirements.