High pay | Shell CEO's salary rises to 143 times the UK average

The chief executive of oil-company Shell has come under fire after his pay more than double last year to more than €20m (£17m) – meaning he is earning 143 times the average UK employee’s salary.

The BBC reports that Ben van Beurden's total salary in 2017, which was approximately €9m (£7.7m), prompted a shareholder revolt. However, the firm's Remuneration Committee (RemCo) said the new ratio was "consistent" with those in the top 30 companies listed in London.

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The RemCo statement said Shell believed in reward packages "that are externally competitive and internally proportionate, meaning the Chief Executive is the employee with the highest proportion of variable pay as he has the highest level of responsibility".

Luke Hildyard, the Director of the High Pay Centre think tank, told the BBC that van Beurden's pay packet epitomised Shell's "flawed governance model and warped corporate culture".