Nine BP bosses share £25m

NINE BP oil barons enjoyed a £25.8m pay and perks windfall last year despite a drop in profits. Chief executive Lord Browne of Madingley saw his annual salary, including performance bonus, soar by 58% or £1.14m to £3.1m - £59,615 a week. He also collected bonus share options worth a further £2.6m, taking his total package to £5.7m.

Although the peer was the main beneficiary of BP's 'Black Gold' bonanza, he was one of six executives whose combined salaries and bonus share options climbed to £19m. Three other 'retired' executives collected packages worth £6.8m under long-term schemes which pay up even though they have left the company.

The timing of the announcement could not have been worse for BP. It comes as motorists face a general 20p a gallon rise in petrol prices before Easter, and Lord Browne and others have talked of a need for belt-tightening which will involve cutting 5,000 jobs in Britain and around the world.

The payouts were condemned by motoring organisations and unions. Edmund King, of the RAC Foundation, said: 'Motorists will be bemused by these lottery-type figures. They are beyond comprehension. Motoring costs make up 15% of weekly outgoings. The price of fuel is a key element in general housekeeping bills. Motorists would like to see Lord Browne's performance-related pay based on keeping the price of petrol down at the pumps, particularly at times of instability.'

John Edmonds, of the GMB union, said: 'I am amazed at the latest example of corporate greed. With these kinds of pay rises they can afford to defer the job cuts and eliminate job uncertainty. As a people's peer, Lord Browne may want to use this windfall opportunity to give back to the people instead of lining his own ermine robe.'

Even in the City, where Lord Browne wins polls as the most admired of business leaders, eyebrows will be raised. Nicknamed 'Neutron Browne' for his ruthless decisions, Lord Browne is a lifelong BP man who followed his father into the company. A supporter of the arts, the 53-year-old chief executive is in line to collect £20m over the next four years if BP hits all its targets, making him Britain's most eligible bachelor. He was made a so-called People's Peer last year under a Labour scheme to ensure more ordinary people would have a chance to contribute to political life.

The huge payouts were made despite a 7% fall in company profits to a still mighty £9.2bn last year. Among the other executives to share the windfall was Lord Browne's deputy, Rodney Chase, who collected a £3.2m package in pay, bonus and options. Finance supremo John Buchanan got £2.7m, exploration boss Dick Olver £2.6m, departed US director Doug Ford £ 2.5m and chemicals chief Byron Grote £2.3m.

Even those who left some time ago are still reaping rewards under long-term incentive schemes. Dr Chris Gibson-Smith, who now chairs the problem stricken National Air Traffic Control Service, collected £2.6m, as did American born former Amoco boss Larry Fuller. Another former director, Bryan Sanderson, got £1.6m.

A BP spokesman defended the company's generosity. He said: 'Since becoming chief executive, John Browne has transformed BP from a second-league player to the second biggest oil company in the world. 'This is a British success story few companies can match and we think he should be rewarded for it. Vast numbers of people have benefited, including BP shareholders and millions of people in pension schemes which hold the shares.'

The group points out that rival US oil companies often pay their bosses more. Exxon Mobil chief executive Lee Raymond's last pay package was just short of £ 20m, while Peter Bijour at Texaco got £7.3m.

Sir Robin Nicholson, chairman of BP's remuneration committee, said the company's continued success depends on its ability to attract, motivate and retain world-class executive talent. 'Rewards for our group chief executive and for the other executive directors must be competitive with the rewards in similar global companies,' he wrote in BP's annual report.

Sir Robin said the remuneration committee sought external, independent advice on executive salaries. 'In 2001 we decided to increase the reward of our executive directors to ensure competitiveness with other global companies based both in the US and UK.'

BP has been accused by independent retailers of pushing up fuel prices by as much as 2p a litre in the last week. This is denied by the company.