British Gas chief pledges to waive bonus

Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive of British Gas parent Centrica, is handing a portion of his bonus this year to charity, according to The Times.

The newspaper reported that at a debate on whether big business has lost the confidence of the public, Laidlaw said he had decided to give up his bonus.

Laidlaw said: "Bonuses are independently set by our remuneration committee but in this environment there is a case for leadership.

"To continue in this world, when clearly households are under pressure, and assume that it is ‘business as normal’, I think, isn’t the way thoughtful remuneration committees think about this."

It is unclear how much of a possible £3.5 million Laidlaw intends to give up.