Almost 500 civil servants paid more than the £151,000 Theresa May is

Whitehall’s gravy train: Almost 500 civil servants are paid more than the £151,000 Theresa May is paid – an 11 percent rise on last year

  • Chief executive of High Speed 2 Mark Thurston leads the way with almost £615K
  • At NHS England 41 bosses earn more than the PM, compared with 34 last year
  • Figures do not cover highly-paid individuals at local councils or NHS trusts

The number of Whitehall officials earning more than the Prime Minister has grown by 11 per cent in a year to almost 500.

A total of 489 civil servants at government departments and quangos are on more than the £151,000 earned by Theresa May – up from 442 last year.

The gravy train has been particularly lucrative for rail bosses, with the chief executive of High Speed 2, Mark Thurston, leading the way with almost £615,000, excluding any bonus.

The chief executive of High Speed 2, Mark Thurston, (pictured) is leading the way with being paid almost £615,000


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Twelve public servants earned more than twice as much as the PM, most of them in the rail industry. 

Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines takes home £590,000 – the second highest figure on the list. 

At NHS England 41 bosses earn more than the PM, compared with 34 last year and 27 two years ago. 

The high salaries add up to a taxpayer bill of £89million. Last year the total was £82million.

James Roberts, political director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘These figures are truly staggering. 

‘Mandarins have got some of the best pay packages in the country, and with their gold-plated pensions and business-class flights, they can look forward to a whale of a time at taxpayers’ expense.

‘The number of HS2 employees on the fattest pay packets should serve as another reminder to scrap this unjustifiable project. 

‘The Government should also finally introduce a cap on public sector exit payments to below £95,000 and stop the public sector merry-go-round.’

The figures published yesterday do not cover highly-paid individuals at local councils or NHS trusts. 

Separate figures show the Government’s spending on special advisers has ramped up dramatically over the past year. 

A total of 489 civil servants at government departments and quangos are on more than the £151,000 earned by Theresa May

As of yesterday, there were the equivalent of 99 full-time ‘spads’. This is up from 88 before Christmas last year, possibly reflecting frantic Brexit activity.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘The civil service balances the need to attract and retain highly skilled individuals with ensuring value for money for taxpayers. 

‘Since 2010, the number of senior officials … earning more than £150,000 has reduced by 9 per cent.’

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