Fat-cat James Murdoch rakes in £3 million

[BGonaSTICK]

The salary of BSkyB chief executive James Murdoch rose 15% last year, taking his total remuneration package to just short of £3m.

Mr Murdoch's package, including pension, increased to £2,993,124 for the year to the end of June, up from £2,749,285m in 2006, according to the company's annual report.

Mr Murdoch received a base salary of £950,000, a maximum allowable bonus of £1.9m and £67,474 in benefits. His pension payment was £75,650.

In addition, Mr Murdoch received 550,000 shares under BSkyB's long-term incentive plan, taking his total number of outstanding share options in LTIP - which are awarded subject to hitting future performance targets - to 1,382,500.

The BSkyB chief financial officer, Jeremy Darroch, received a 5% pay rise, taking his total remuneration package to £1,423,752, up from £1,324,958 in 2006.

Mr Darroch's package consisted of a salary of 525,000, a bonus payment of £840,000, benefits of £17,103 and a pension payment amounting to £41,649.

Mr Murdoch's bonus was 200% of his base salary and Mr Darroch's was 160% - the maximum level - because BSkyB "exceeded target by a substantial margin," according to BSkyB's remuneration policy.

The pay rises awarded to the pair reflected the "committee's view of the appropriate base salary for roles of this complexity in a rapidly evolving business environment, taking into account a range of market benchmarks".

Mr Darroch also received 290,000 shares as part of the company's long-term incentive plan, taking his total number of outstanding share options in LTIP to 752,500.

Mr Darroch is also a non-executive director of Marks & Spencer Group, receiving £65,333 for the year to the end of June for that role.