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Bosses of some of the UK’s biggest companies had their pay increased to 118 times the median wage of a full time UK worker, up from 108 times the average rate a year earlier.

Median pay for chief executives of FTSE 100 share index companies grew to £3.91m in 2022, the highest level since 2007.

The median pay – the midpoint between the lowest and highest pay – increased from £3.38m in 2021.

Pay grew 16% from 2021 levels to 2022, the most recent time period with full information available, for chief executives of the Financial Times Stock Exchange index of the 100 most valuable companies.

For comparison, official figures showed the average worker’s pay, including bonuses, rose 5.7% in the final three months of 2022 from a year earlier.

Data from FTSE 350 companies showed £1.33bn was spent on the pay of 570 executives.

The figures were collated by the High Pay Centre thinktank.

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Information was taken from disclosures of chief executives’ total pay, listed in companies’ 2022 annual reports. For companies who do not report in sterling, the amount was converted into pounds using the exchange rate cited by HMRC close to the company’s year-end.

The thinktank’s research also showed there were eight female FTSE 100 chief executives in 2022, down one from nine in 2021.

According to the analysis, the highest-paid chief executive was Pascal Soriot, at the helm of AstraZeneca who received £15.32m in 2022.

He was followed by:
• Charles Woodburn, of weapons maker BAE Systems, on £10.69m.
• Albert Manifold, of building materials firm CRH, on £10.38m.
• Bernard Looney, of oil and gas producer BP, on £10.03m.
• Brian Cassin, of consumer credit reporting and analytics firm Experian, on £9.94m.

Read more
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Private sector wage growth surpasses inflation despite unexpected unemployment rise

The High Pay Centre called for reforms to corporate pay-setting rules.

Companies should be required to have at least two elected workforce representatives on the remuneration committees that set pay and should give more detail on pay for top earners beyond the executives, the thinktank said.

Detail on low earners, including indirectly employed workers, should also be given, enabling more informed pay negotiations and a clearer debate about pay inequality, the group added.

“How major employers distribute the wealth that their workforce creates has a big impact on people’s living standards,” said the High Pay Centre director, Luke Hildyard.

“We need to give workers more voice on company boards, strengthen trade union rights and enable low and middle-income earners to get a fairer share in relation to those at the top.”

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.

Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.

Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.

“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.

“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.

“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.

“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.

“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”

Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.

He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.

Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.

A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.

“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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