Hain's rant on city bonuses 'naïve'

Finance | Gareth Jones | 1 Mar 2007

Business leaders and charities have lambasted Peter Hain's call for City firms to donate two thirds of their bonuses to charities and deprived communities, as naïve.

In a recent interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Peter Hain, deputy leader candidate and Northern Ireland Secretary, said that 4,000 city workers received more than £1 million a year each in bonuses, totalling £8.8 billion last Christmas. He said: 'There's a real problem of people on average incomes feeling there's a sort of super-rich class right at the top. People don't feel that's proportionate. We've lost a sense of moral corporate responsibility here. Why don't they give two-thirds of that money and invest it in charity or invest it in regeneration schemes for unemployed kids who are living a mile away from the opulence that there is in the City?'

He warned that City firms could face government legislation or tax hikes to reduce inequality if they do not act themselves to curb excessive payouts. In response, David McNeil, director of press and public affairs at corporate social responsibility charity Business in the Community, said Hain's comments 'seem to be more of a huffing around the deputy leadership election than anything else'. He said: 'I've heard nothing that would suggest the government is considering legislation in this area.'

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