EXECUTIVE pay has grown from 60 times that of the average worker to almost 180 times since the 1990s, according to a new report.

The Government has been urged to take "radical action" to close the gap, such as capping executive pay at a fixed multiple of a firm's lowest-paid employees.

The High Pay Centre think-tank said shareholders were still backing executive pay policies.

The pay of the average FTSE 100 chief executive increased from £4.1 million to £4.7m last year, said the report. The think-tank said trust in business was being damaged by the perception that an executive "elite" were reaping all the rewards from economic growth.

High Pay Centre director Deborah Hargreaves said: "It's time to get serious about tackling the executive pay racket. The Government's tinkering won't bring about a proper change in the UK's pay culture."