Vodafone deaf to Fat Cat pleas

NEWS Vodafone this morning slipped into the red after the company defied pleas from shareholders to rein-in bonuses and stock options for bosses. It has been revealed that Chris Gent, the company's chief was paid £2.42m last year plus £1.6m worth of Vodafone stock. All this in the year Vodafone racked-up not only its greatest loss ever but the biggest loss ever recorded in UK corporate history. A breakdown of Gent's salary shows he earned £1.19m basic salary plus £1.2m in benefits. Vodafone's move is in stark contrast with German rival Deutsche Telekom which has chosen not to reward its board members with stocks after its share price collapsed. As of 11:00(BST), Vodafone share were down 1.88 per cent to 92p.