According to the document, accountants from Ernst and Young told the council in August last year they had found what they described as "contract leakage" in relation to the agreement with MITIE which they said had not been operating as defined leading to a "loss of value" for the council.

BBC: Birmingham Council House

The Times said that he had been given a six-month contract rather than the usual yearlong agreement, citing associates.

FORBES: Topol's Exit

The Times said that he had been given a six-month contract rather than the usual year-long agreement, citing associates.

FORBES: Leaving Cleveland?

McNish's contract was due to expire at the end of this season, while Toyota said they came to a "mutual agreement" with Salo.

BBC: McNish loses Toyota seat

However, a spokeswoman for BBC Global News said this latter agreement was a "commercial content licensing deal" and completely separate to the iPlayer contract.

BBC: Microsoft's Windows Phone platform to get BBC's iPlayer