Six hundred Whitehall fatcats are paid more than £150,000 - a 16% increase on pre-covid figures

The number of civil servants earning more than £150,000 a year has soared since the start of the covid madness – despite many of them working from home.

Figures have revealed that almost 600 civil servants and senior public sector officials were paid over £150,000 – up almost 16 per cent on two years ago.

The Prime Minister earns just over £150,000 for running the country. No fewer than 16 Whitehall officials now get paid more than twice that amount.

Those whose salaries exceed £150,000 cost the taxpayer up to £107 million a year – up from £100 million the year before.

The pay list is topped by the boss of the controversial HS2 project, who earns £625,000. Some 46 executives at HS2 earn more than £150,000, even though the rail project has been dramatically scaled back. 

Another 74 from Network Rail earn more than £150,000, despite reduced train services during the pandemic.

The list also reveals that a Civil Service boss who controversially extolled the virtues of flexible working because she enjoyed getting on her Peloton exercise bike saw an increase in her £150,000-plus salary.

Sarah Healey, permanent secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, saw her salary move from the £160,000 to £165,000 band to the £165,000-£170,000 bracket.

The pay bonanza comes despite a rampant ‘working from home’ culture among civil servants which ministers have struggled to address. 

At the same time, millions of ordinary families are facing intense financial pressure, with a cost of living crisis driven by inflation, tax rises and soaring energy bills.