NEWSPAPER publisher Johnston Press has seen its share price drop four per cent after it was forced to back down on plans to hike annual bonuses for senior executives.

The owner of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post, which posted a £300 million annual loss in March, had proposed to pay bosses a larger annual bonus, with deferral, under moves to revamp its remuneration policy.

But following consultation with shareholders, the publisher said the maximum annual bonus for executives will be reduced to the “normal policy levels”. That means the maximum bonus potential for chief executive Ashley Highfield, who was last year paid a total of £556,000, will be 120 per cent of annual salary, instead of the proposed 180 per cent. The chief financial officer can earn a potential bonus of 100 per cent of salary, rather than the 165 per cent under the proposed changes.

Johnston has changed its policy at a time mounting shareholder disquiet over corporate pay. Royal Bank of Scotland shareholders last week carried changes to its remuneration policy, including a 40 per cent cut in maximum long-term incentive awards, though some investors said the changes did not go far enough.

Johnston confirmed no restricted share awards will be granted to executive directors under its 2006 performance share plan (PSP) or any other long-term incentive plan (LTIP) run by the company. It also said no performance shares will be granted to directors under the PSP or any other LTIP scheme. Meanwhile, Johnston said one-third of any annual bonus awarded to directors under the new policy will be deferred for three years. Shares were down 0.62p at 14.88p.