Barclays boss rewarded with salary boost as annual pay doubled to £3.9m

MATTHEW BARRETT the Irishman who heads Britain’s Barclays bank is to see his annual pay package double to stg£3.9 million, it emerged yesterday.

Mr Barrett, who said he would never borrow by the bank's credit card because it was too expensive, will earn stg£3.1 million in pay and bonuses for 2003.

As a reward for leading the bank to profits of stg£3.84 billion last year, the Kells-born Mr Barrett will also pick up share options worth stg£831,000.