My pay is very low, moans advertising tycoon with a basic salary of £1 MILLION a year

One of Britain’s highest paid executives prompted outrage last night by insisting that his £1million basic salary is 'very low’.
Sir Martin Sorrell, head of advertising giant WPP, rejected criticism of executive pay in the wake of a study showing it rose by almost 50 per cent in the past year.
David Cameron described the huge increases commanded by bosses at a time when ordinary workers have had their incomes squeezed as 'disturbing’.

High flying: Sir Martin Sorrell, pictured with his wife Lady Cristiana, said his pay as head of advertising giant WPP is very low

And Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it was a 'slap in the face’ for employees, seizing on the astonishing rise as evidence that tax cuts for the low paid should take priority over scrapping the 50p top tax rate.
But Sir Martin, 66, said his bumper income, which rose by 83 per cent to £4.2million last year, was fully justified and was mostly linked to the firm’s performance.
He added that he considered his basic salary, of just over £1million, to be 'very low’.

Condemnation: Nick Clegg (left) and David Cameron have both said bumper pay rises for Britain's top bosses are unacceptable

But his comments astonished MPs and infuriated union leaders. Labour education spokesman Karen Buck described the huge rise in executive pay as 'grotesque’, adding: 'What planet do these people live on?’
Deborah Hargreaves, chair of the High Pay Commission which is looking into executives’ remuneration, said the performance-related pay deals enjoyed by executives 'don’t really work’.

Commenting on the study by the research group Income Data Services, she added: 'I think it is very hard to justify these sorts of pay increases when we have seen companies’ share prices go down, profits down, companies laying off staff, and when average wages are going up 1 or 2 per cent, not even keeping up with price rises.’
But in an interview with the Daily Mail, Sir Martin angrily defended his bumper pay packet.
He said: 'The only planet I am living on is looking at our company in terms of the competition – that’s the planet. We need to maintain a competitive position. The UK only accounts for 12 per cent of our business. We have more Brazilians, Russians, and Indians than we have Americans and Brits.
'In 2009 it was a tough year for us and compensation across the board fell. In 2010 we delivered record profit.
'People are not distinguishing between fixed pay and incentive pay. I don’t sell my stock. Other people, including our competitors, do. The value of the business has grown from £1million to £8.5billion over its life.’
However, there was little sympathy for him among ordinary workers outside WPP’s offices in West London last night.
One of the firm’s delivery men, who declined to give his name, said: 'To say that his salary is not very much is really insensitive. I’m not earning that much, no one is.’

Julian Chambers, a street cleaner working next to the building, said: 'I work here every day on minimum wage and I work weekends just to pay the bills. It’s been really hard even finding work during the past few years. It just shows how out of touch he must be.’
Yesterday’s report by the IDS showed pay among directors of Britain’s FTSE 100 companies had risen by 49 per cent last year. It now averages £3.8million.
The Prime Minister said the increase was 'not okay’ when millions were facing pay freezes and called for 'transparency, proper accountability and a sense of responsibility from boardrooms’.
And Bob Crow, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union, said: 'The same top bosses demanding wage restraint and attacks on workers’ rights on the shop floor have been caught stuffing their own pockets in the boardroom.’

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