THE BOSS of British Gas owner Centrica has been handed a £4.5m pay package, a five-fold increase, after the business saw its profits soar last year.

Chris O'Shea - who last month had to apologise for the way British Gas had treated some customers - was paid a salary of £790,000 for last year and will be handed around £3.7m in additional payments.

Of this, £711,000 will be paid in cash straight away, while the rest is tied up in Centrica shares for a few years, the business revealed yesterday.

It will be the first time O'Shea has been paid a bonus since taking the top job at Centrica in 2020.

A year ago he waived his right to a bonus as customers were struggling to pay their energy bills, leaving his total remuneration at £875,000.

Nevertheless, the move to accept the extra millions this year is likely to raise eyebrows, especially with British Gas recently thrust into headlines over allegations of forced installations of prepayment meters.

In its annual update yesterday, Centrica argued that it needed to pay bonuses to "retain leaders".

PA

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