We do have to resolve inequality admits £8m-a-year Centrica boss

Pay rise: Centrica chief exec Chris O’Shea (pictured) earns £8m a year

The boss of British Gas owner Centrica admitted there is ‘inequality’ in society as customers use loan sharks to pay bills.

Chris O’Shea was grilled by MPs about energy costs just months after it was revealed that his pay doubled to £8m in 2023.

His bonuses are linked to its share price, which rose. O’Shea, 50, appeared before MPs on the energy and net zero committee and said: ‘I understand the pressure that people have been under… people are struggling. 

‘There is inequality that we do need to resolve.’ It would take the average Centrica employee 124 years to earn the amount O’Shea took home in 2023. 

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said a fifth of households in arrears borrowed from illegal lenders in the last year.