The outgoing chief executive of BT suffered a significant rebuke from shareholders angered at his £2.3m pay packet for 2017, as 34% of them voted to reject the payment on Wednesday.

Gavin Patterson, who is due to step down as chief executive of the UK telecoms group later this year, has received the bumper payout, which includes a £1.3m bonus, despite a 30% slide in BT’s share price during 2017. In June, the company announced a restructuring that will mean 13,000 job cuts over the next three years.