Company bosses across Europe got a 4.9% pay rise in 2016, more than twice the rate of inflation and almost double what their employees got – illustrating why once again executive remuneration is causing a wave of shareholder unrest at AGMs.

The shareholder voting advisory firm ISS analysed bosses' pay in the Stoxx 600 index of leading European companies, an index that includes the UK. It looked specifically at "continuing CEOs" – bosses in charge for more than two years, to exclude the effect of golden handshakes and parachutes.