This is the awkward moment a Persimmon boss refused to answer when quizzed about his £75million bonus.
Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn visibly squirmed during a BBC interview when asked to comment on the huge bonus.
Back in February, the housing company announced Mr Fairburn’s bonus would be cut to £75million following a public outcry after it was announced he would receive a £100m payout.
Persimmon came under pressure from both politicians and investors after their uncapped bonus scheme was announced.
The outrage came after it emerged the company’s profits and share price had been built on the sale of controversial leasehold contracts and the taxpayer-backed Help To Buy scheme.
When the bonus was announced in 2017, it was thought to be the biggest ever awarded at a listed company, and one shareholder called it "grossly excessive".
There is now renewed public backlash over the enormous sum following his cringe-worthy interview on BBC.
During the interview, Mr Fairburn was asked by reporter Spencer Stokes if he had "any regrets about the furore surrounding his bonus?"
He visibly squired as he stubbed over his words before his PR interjected saying: It’s time to go".
Mr Fairburn then looked awkwardly between his public relations officer and the interviewer before adding: "I’d rather not talk about that, it’s been well covered actually."
The reporter then asked: "So you don’t want to discuss that today? Are there any lessons we’ve learned from that? It was the biggest bonus in the country. "
The housing boss then dropped his head before walking off screen.
He then said: "I think it’s really unfortunate actually that you’ve done that."
The clip quickly went viral with people taking to social media to comment on the enormous sum.
One woman named Sarah wrote on Twitter: "’Grossly excessive’ seems like an understatement."
A man named Dave agreed saying: "How can anyone be paid a bonus of £75 million pounds? What about the workers! This bonus culture needs to change."
A third added: "£75 million quid in his back pocket and can’t answer a reasonable question. Chicken!"
Mr Fairburn had previously said he would donate a "substantial proportion" of the payout to charity.
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