Almost a fifth of shareholders in global news giant Thomson Reuters have protested about how much the company paid its directors last year, it emerged today.

Thomson Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer earned £6.2m in pay and bonuses last year for overseeing the merger of Reuters and Thomson, on top of about £15m in share options. Five other senior executives were granted share awards.

The remuneration report was put to a vote at the annual general meeting earlier this week. Thomson Reuters says 17.72 per cent of shareholders voted against it – meaning it was still passed.