''If you want the best you have to pay the going rate". I guess the remark was ironic.
This is an old battle cry of those on the receiving end of bloated remuneration packages. Being CEO of a regulated monopoly with a 25 year franchise is hardly living on the front line of high risk dog-eat-dog capitalism is it?
Does the going rate in an organisation 49% owned by the UK deserve to be more than 5 times the remuneration of the head of government (CEO) of the UK?