Almost 15 per cent of shareholders in Vodafone refused to give their wholehearted support to Arun Sarin, the embattled chief executive, at the group's annual meeting today.

The telecoms group also suffered a substantial revolt over a controversial new awards package for directors.

Mr Sarin has been criticised for failing to inject the group with a fresh and incisive business strategy.

When Sarin was appointed in December 2002 Vodafone shares were 112p. They peaked at 154.25p and today are 115.75p, just off their 109p four-year low.

During Sarin's reign the FTSE has risen 52 per cent.

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He has faced vocal opposition from holders including Standard Life, Morley Fund Management and Legal & General.

Almost 20 per cent of Vodafone's shareholders refused to endorse a proposal to reduce the performance criteria relating to bonus awards for senior directors. Some 8.5 per cent of the shares cast were voted against the remuneration report, with abstentions reaching 10.9 per cent.

Although both Mr Sarin's re-election and the bonus plan were passed with a substantial majority, the size of the rebellion is marked and represents a clear demonstration of the frustrations felt by some shareholders.

Standard Life, which holds about 1.7 per cent of the shares, stated before the results were known that it had voted against both Mr Sarin and the remuneration report.

Standard Life said: "We opposed the re-election of Arun Sarin and the remuneration report. This reflects the importance we attach to leadership at Vodafone and our concerns about Vodafone's remuneration policies, which in our opinion provide significant rewards for achieving unchallenging performance conditions."

Morley, which holds 2.1 per cent of the company, said yesterday that it would be voting against Mr Sarin, with Hermes expected to follow suit. While expressing its discontent with Mr Sarin, Legal & General said the undue disruption that would entail meant it would not be voting against him today.

Lloyd Whitworth, head of Core UK Equities at Morley Fund Management said: "Our vote reflected the seriousness of our concerns and we look forward to continuing a dialogue with the company."

Vodafone said at its annual general meeting that about 3.7 billion proxy votes were cast against Mr Sarin with 1.9 billion abstentions. A total of 33.3 billion shares were voted.

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