Royal Mail paid £4.5 million to its executives in the last financial year, £500,000 less than in the previous 12 months.

The privatised mail group's annual report confirmed the pay and benefits of chief executive Moya Greene fell from £1.96 million to £1.35m. Her salary remained at £498,000.

Chairman Donald Brydon was paid £200,000, the same as the previous year.

Mark Higson, managing director for operations, got an unchanged £1.2m in pay and benefits, while chief finance officer Matthew Lester saw his total package fall slightly to £1.3m.

Pay for the seven non-executive directors ranged from £3000 to £60,000.

The report covers the period last autumn when the company was privatised.