ROLLS-Royce have come under fire for awarding its boss – Monmouth School-educated Warren East – a £916,000 bonus on top of his £1.1m salary,

despite the company posting a record £4.64bn loss in 2016.

Around 700 management staff were made redundant last year at the iconic car company, co-founded by Monmouth’s Charles Stuart Rolls in 1906, whose statue looks down on the town’s Agincourt Square.

And top business organisation, the Institute of Directors, has slammed Old Monmothian Mr East’s remuneration as ill-advised given the company’s recent figures. 

“Bonuses need to be linked to performance and at Rolls-Royce it has been a difficult 12 months,” said IoD head

of corporate governance Oliver Parry.

“The idea that the CEO is receiving a bonus after two profit warnings

doesn’t sit very well with investors.”

Rolls-Royce said the giant loss was down to a £4.4bn write-down in company value caused by the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote, plus a £671 million penalty to settle bribery allegations.

Underlying pre-tax pro­fits also plunged 49 per cent to £813m in 2016, with only a “modest” improvement forecast this year. 

Mr East was a Monmouth pupil from 1973 to 1980 before studying at Oxford University, and is involved in fundraising for the 403-year-old private school.

The 55-year-old was appointed Rolls-Royce’s CEO in 2015 after previously heading up chip processor giant ARM Holdings.