Marconi reveals pay deals for former executives

Marconi says its former chairman won't receive a pay-off following his departure.

Sir Roger Hurn, who resigned last month, had been tipped to get £300,000.

But the company says he has not sought, or been offered, any compensation.

Lord Simpson, who resigned as chief executive, will receive £300,000.

It was thought that the former Marconi boss was in line for a £1m pay-off.

The company says its former deputy chief executive John Mayo, who was in line to succeed Lord Simpson, will receive £600,000.

Unions say the pay-out to Lord Simpson, although a massive reduction from the sum he had been expected to receive, is equivalent to around 10 Marconi workers' annual salaries.

Roger Lyons, general secretary of the MSF union, says: "This is outrageous, and a slap in the face for the workforce and shareholders alike.

"Across industry, staff have been asked to accept performance-related pay. How can this be fair when executives get big pay-offs regardless of their performance?"

The telecoms equipment group, which has announced 10,000 job cuts this year, has been relegated from the Footsie 100 index after its shares dived from a peak of more than £12 last year to around 16¼p.