Trinity Mirror boss Sly Bailey leaves with a £1m farewell

Sly Bailey has struck a £1m "compromise agreement" to smooth her exit from Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Daily Mirror and The People.

She will pick up the pay-off for being a "good leaver" – City jargon for going without a fuss – after a row with shareholders about her excessive pay package boiled over on Thursday night.

Ms Bailey has run Trinity for nearly a decade, gaining a reputation for slashing costs. But frustrated investors have seen the company's share price slide by 90 per cent while she has pocketed £14m in salary and bonuses.

She was the biggest victim of the wave of shareholder unrest during recent weeks which has seen huge protest votes against boardroom earnings.

Her payoff is bound to create a further ruccus at its shareholder meeting next Thursday.

Aviva yesterday suffered a near-60 per cent protest vote over executive pay packages including chief executive Andrew Moss's £3m.

The current wave of protest is unprecedented and set to spread.

Pensions adviser Pirc last night said shareholders should vote against the pay packages at the metals trading giant Glencore, where potential bonuses are seven times salary. It also opposes the re-election of the entire board at the materials maker Cookson and condemned a bonus to the chief executive.