Barclays' Chief Diamond Nets $26 Million Pay Deal

Barclays PLC boss Bod Diamond received a pay, stock and perks package worth about £17 million ($26 million) last year, it emerged Friday.

The paymemt, which does not include the bank covering Diamond's £5.7 million ($9-million) tax bill, comes after Barclays' profits fell 3 percent in 2011 and is set to anger shareholders and fair pay campaigners critical of huge payouts.

The news comes amidst an embarrassing row between Barclays and the UK government over the bank's tax avoidance schemes, which are thought to have saved Barclays up to £500 million ($785 million).

Diamond's deal includes basic salary and shares worth £4.05-million, £474,000 in perks for chauffeurs and financial advice, £7.8 million from an executive share award scheme and £4.7 million from maturing share schemes that date back to 2006.

The £5.7 million payment to tax authorities was to cover capital gains realized by Diamond's move from the U.S. to the UK, the BBC reported.

However, the figures also revealed that Diamond was not even the highest paid executive at Barclays in 2011 with res[ect to base salary. Indeed, his base £6.3 million was surpassed by an unnamed executive who received £6.7 million and another unnamed banker who was awarded £6.5 million, the BBC's Robert Peston reported.

Bonuses at the Barclays investment banking arm, Barclays Capital, were down 30 percent this year to an average £64,000 per employee.

The figures come after Prime Minister David Cameron in January urged banks to show restraint in bonus payments to top executives, as public workers were laid off during a time of public sector cut-backs.

Diamond is Britain's second highest paid bank executive after HSBC's Stuart Gulliver, who received £7.16 million in base salary during 2011, Bloomberg reported.

Last month it was revealed Barclays would have to shut down two tax avoidance schemes, described as highly abusive by UK tax authorities.

The move, which could cost Barclays up to £500 million, came after the bank pledged to honor a voluntary code of conduct banking such tax avoidance schemes.

Speaking to the UK's Daily Mail newspaper, fair tax campaigner David Hillman said: The pockets of Bob Diamond and his fellow bankers are busting at the seams from their multi-million pound pay packets, whilst the Exchequer is being left short by the bank's tax avoidance measures.

The Government's stand-off approach to ensuring banks pay their fair share to society isn't working.