FTSE 100 bosses see their pay rise by 5% to £3.1m despite the recession

FTSE 100 bosses have seen their pay rise by 5% to an average salary of £3.1m despite the recession, new research has shown.

The study, by pay consultancy MM&K, found the salary packages of chief executives of FTSE 100 companies had quadrupled over the past 10 years even though share prices had declined.

Short-term bonuses were also shown to be making up a rising proportion of total pay, rather than simple salaries or long-term share options, the Daily Mail has reported.

Cliff Weight, director of MM&K, said huge payouts were now being made for no more than "adequate" performance.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "This survey confirms that even in the middle of a recession, the elite want to leech off the rest of us."