Former Olympus boss Michael Woodford gets settlement

Michael Woodford, the sacked British former chief executive of Olympus, has settled his claim of unfair dismissal with the Japanese camera firm.

Mr Woodford was fired last October after he questioned dubious payments made by the firm.

After initially denying the accusations, Olympus eventually admitted that it had hidden $1.7bn (£1.1bn) of losses over 20 years.

Mr Woodford was said to be asking for $60m from a tribunal in London.

But after a night of negotiations, Mr Woodford's lawyer told the employment tribunal judge that they had reached a settlement - likely to be worth millions - and that final agreement would depend on ratification by the Olympus board at a meeting on 8 June.

"I am not at liberty, under the terms of the agreement, to go into any detail," Mr Woodford said.

"But I genuinely hope that in the interests of Olympus, they can move forward and also that I can."

He was the first foreign boss appointed at Olympus and was fired two weeks into the job after persistently warning about corruption at the upper levels of the company.

Mr Woodford had written six letters to directors of the firm because of his concerns over business methods at Olympus

Since the accounting scandal came to light, the company's shares have plunged, its board resigned and the US, UK and Japanese prosecutors are investigating the company.

Mr Woodford said he would celebrate the settlement by going sailing.