Cable's plan to consult on executive pay

Vince Cable has announced plans for a consultation on "ridiculous" levels of executive pay and ways to toughen up disclosure on remuneration and links to performance.

The Business Secretary told an audience at the Association of British Insurers' annual conference yesterday that the total pay of Britain's FTSE 100 blue-chip companies last year was 120 times that of the average employee, up from 45 times in 1998.

"Ridiculous levels of remuneration are going unchallenged as the norm, as there is no correlation with performance," Mr Cable said.