The former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland is set to pocket a £1million bonus from the state-backed lender – two years after he was dramatically forced out of his job by George Osborne. There was growing outrage last night that Stephen Hester will get such a huge sum from a bank that was bailed out by the taxpayer. He could receive more than 500,000 shares in RBS – worth up to £1.9million – as part of a long-term incentive scheme dating from his days in charge. However Mr Hester, who now runs insurance firm RSA, is unlikely to receive the full entitlement because not all the terms have been met. Stephen Hester, left with a Warwickshire Hunt,  is set to pocket a £1million bonus from the Royal Bank of Scotland . In January 2012, when he was still at the helm of RBS, Mr Hester turned down a controversial bonus worth almost £1million after caving in to ‘enormous political pressure’ despite the backing of the bank’s board. At the time he was being paid £1.2million a year – or 46 times the average salary of employees in Britain. Mr Hester was brought in to turn around beleaguered RBS after the departure of disgraced predecessor Fred Goodwin. News that he continues to receive millions from his tenure at the bank has sparked fury after RBS last week revealed a seventh consecutive year of annual losses. Andy Silvester of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘Until RBS is able to stand on its own two feet, it needs to seriously rein in payoffs, bonuses and these long-term incentives. ‘The Chancellor needs to stand up to those in the organisation who seem to have forgotten that taxpayers bailed the bank out. Shareholders must be heard – and at RBS, that includes taxpayers.’ RBS’s earnings have been hammered by a spiralling bill for its past misdemeanours – including those during Mr Hester’s reign. Last week it reported a £3.5billion annual loss and announced that former Financial Services Authority boss Sir Howard Davies will take over from Sir Philip Hampton as chairman. It set aside £2.2billion to cover legal claims, including £320million to pay further fines in the US for rigging foreign currency markets and an extra £400million in the last three months of 2014 for mis-selling payment protection insurance. RBS, which has been propped up by £46billion of taxpayers’ money since the 2008 financial crisis, still has the power to scrap or delay Mr Hester’s bonus. Shareholders have complained for years that it continues to hand ‘extraordinary’ packages to top staff. The Government has a 79 per cent stake in the bank, although it is eager to see it back in private hands. However, with the share price around 370p – still well below the 455p the Treasury needs to recoup its money – a sale remains a long way off. Conservative MP Mark Garnier, a member of the influential Treasury Select Committee, said: ‘Success for RBS will be when it is back in the private sector. So, given the current environment, I don’t think that people should be taking bonuses until such time that it is fully privatised again.’ RBS refused to comment.
Stephen Hester is set to pocket a £1m bonus from Royal Bank of Scotland . Turned down enormous bonus in 2012 after 'enormous political pressure'
Critics are outraged taxpayers' money is being used for such incentives .