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 annual after 'enormous political pressure ' Critics are outraged taxpayers ' money is being used for such incentives .