AA demands £1.2m from ousted boss
THE Automobile Association is attempting to claw back bonuses worth more than £1.2 million from its former chairman over an allegation he was involved in a public altercation not previously disclosed to its board.
Bob Mackenzie, 64, was dismissed for gross misconduct in July after CCTV footage captured him assaulting a fellow AA senior executive in a hotel bar. The dismissal sent the company’s shares into freefall, wiping £200million off its value.
The country’s biggest breakdown recovery service is now understood to be trying to retrieve two years’ bonus payments from Mr Mackenzie after it learned of a separate alleged altercation that took place earlier.
The second alleged incident involved a member of the public, rather than an AA employee.
The firm is now understood to have written to Mr Mackenzie requesting that he hands back his annual bonuses for 2016 and 2017.
Lawyers for Mr Mackenzie declined to comment, but they are expected to dispute the attempt.
The second alleged incident is said to have come to light only after Mr Mackenzie was dismissed for assaulting Mike Lloyd, who is in charge of the AA’S insurance division.
It is thought the newly revealed incident took place when Mr Mackenzie was not representing the AA and was effectively “off duty” from his role heading the major public company
The AA is expected to argue that Mr Mackenzie should have disclosed the earlier incident. Senior executives’ contracts often include clauses ensuring they divulge anything that may later bring the company into disrepute.
At the time of the first incident, the AA made no men- tion of reclaiming the bonuses. However, executives’ patience may have been exhausted by news of the second event, and a decision was made to try to recoup the payouts.
The Daily Telegraph reported last month that Mr Mr Mackenzie had hired lawyers to argue he was unfairly dismissed due to the pressure of his role as AA executive chairman.
Friends of Mr Mackenzie insisted his attack on Mr Lloyd came after he had snapped in a moment of folly as a result of mixing the prescription drug diazepam with two pints of beer and two glasses of white wine.