Hefty bonus : Antony Jenkins , who receives £5.5m a year , was immediately accused of being ‘ out of touch ’ over the 'pie in the sky ' comments . The boss of Barclays has called for an end to free banking , claiming the controversial move would be a ‘ step forward ’ for customers . Antony Jenkins , who said he would not make the first move in case it scared off customers , was immediately accused of being ‘ out of touch ’ . His comments came as the High Street giant unveiled another big pay-day for staff . Mr Jenkins ’ total package more than tripled from £1.6million in 2013 to £5.5million last year . Asked whether he would approve of free in-credit bank accounts being outlawed and charges introduced across the board , he said : ‘ I do think that would be a step forward , yes . ‘ It ’ s difficult to achieve of course because the banks can ’ t do that . It would probably have to be regulated or legislated. ’ He told ITV News it was unlikely that any bank would make the first move in case it lost business . John Mann , a member of the Treasury committee , said last night : ‘ He lives in a different world from the rest of us . People on lower incomes would suffer . This shows how out of touch Mr Jenkins is , as so many customers value free bank accounts. ’ Mr Jenkins came under fire last year when he argued that closing bank branches would lead to a ‘ better customer experience ’ as current account holders are increasingly banking online . James Daley of consumer group Fairer Finance said his latest comments were ‘ pie in the sky ’ , adding : ‘ To try and scrap the free in-credit banking system we have now would be incredibly unpopular . 'No government would legislate for it – it would be a vote loser because more people benefit from it [ free banking ] than lose out ’ . But Mr Jenkins has the support of senior regulators including Bank of England deputy governor Andrew Bailey , who has called free banking a ‘ dangerous myth ’ – partly due to the confusing array of hefty charges for the millions who go overdrawn . Supporters of packaged accounts – which can cost around £15 a month and typically include ‘ perks ’ such as travel insurance – also claim banks will be less likely to mis-sell other products . But latest figures from the Financial Ombudsman show complaints from customers who believe they were mis-sold packaged accounts have soared . Royal Bank of Scotland last week revealed it had set aside £150million to compensate customers mis-sold packaged accounts . The comments came as the High Street giant unveiled another big pay-day for staff ( file picture ) The row came as Mr Jenkins was forced to defend his decision to accept a £1.1million bonus for last year , despite cutting 14,000 jobs . The 53-year-old insisted the decision was ‘ appropriate ’ , saying : ‘ You have to look at the very significant progress we ’ ve made in the two-and-a-half years that I have been chief executive. ’ Barclays has set aside almost £1.3billion to pay likely fines for rigging the £3.5trillion-a-day foreign exchange market . This helped drag down profits by 21 per cent to £2.3billion . A spokesman for the Robin Hood tax campaign said : ‘ Bonus season has again been dominated by pay controversies , scandals and fines – underlining that too little reform has taken place . ’
Mr Mr Jenkins accused of being 'out of touch ' over 'pie in the sky ' comments . It came as the High Street giant unveiled another big pay-day for staff . But he said he would not make first move in case it scared off customers . Also came under fire when he said closing branches would lead to ‘ better customer experience ’