This is of course, the former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin, aka "Fred the Shred". Goodwin was responsible for RBS bank during the time it made a £24.1 billion pre-tax loss, the biggest in UK corporate history. He led a disastrous strategy of corporate acquisitions which led to the bank's downfall and necessitated a bail-out funded by taxpayers. He was rewarded for this appallingly reckless bad management and record corporate losses with an early retirement package of £693,000 ($933,000) a year.

A decent man would have voluntarily given up this pension, or at least part of it. But not Fred the Shred! Despite public anger and mounting political pressure, Fred has stuck two fingers up at the Treasury and his critics - he has announced his intention of keeping all his entitlement to himself and fuck the taxpayer who's funding this cushy £693,000-a-year retirement.

Meantime, RBS staff face further job cuts and the taxpayer is not only keeping Fred in high style but is also being opened up to unprecedented liabilities by having to further prop up the RBS with insurance for £325 billion of "toxic" assets.

But "I'm all right Fred" will be hunkydory and sitting in gold-plated clover. Unless maybe the government actually follows through on its threat to take legal action against him to recoup some of the money. I won't be holding my breath. For that to happen it would have to be proved Freddo was negligent, and although it's patently obvious he was, legally proving it is likely to be bloody tough.

So if you ever wondered how you could retire on £693,000 a year at the age of 50, here's your answer - it's easy! All you have to do is bring one of the world's largest banking companies to the brink of collapse, then not give a fuck about such twattish notions as "doing the right thing".

Just goes to prove that failing spectacularly can pay better than winning.