Olympic Games chiefs go for gold with huge bonuses
Olympics chiefs today awarded themselves pay increases and bumper bonuses despite government pressure to cut the bill.
Seven directors at the Olympic Delivery Authority received an average annual bonus of £48,000 on top of salary and pension packages between £257,000 and £372,000.
Chief executive David Higgins is Britain's highest paid quango chief with a basic salary of £390,000, plus a £48,000 pension contribution, taking his package to £438,000. But the full scale of his pay has not been revealed because his bonus - last year set at £209,000 - has not yet been approved by ministers.
Director of construction Howard Shiplee received £377,000 including a bonus of £57,000.
Director of communications Godric Smith, spin doctor to former prime minister Tony Blair, is Britain's best-paid quango communications chief with a package up £10,000 to £257,000.
Directors will defer 10 per cent of their bonuses - on average £6,800 - until the job is finished in 2012.
Today's details included in the ODA's annual report confirms that bosses at the construction agency are among Britain's most richly-rewarded "quangocrats". All seven directors and Mr Higgins earn more than the Prime Minister.
Last week Olympics minister Hugh Robertson urged the ODA to "take account of the prevailing economic conditions and what the Government has said and make the award accordingly".
The ODA said the financial rewards were in return for progress on the Games site with the project on time and budget.
Matthew Sinclair, research director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "The packages that bosses are getting at the ODA are incredible. Such generous pay at a time when ordinary taxpayers are feeling the pinch is hard to justify, as are big bonuses when we are years from knowing whether the ODA has managed to deliver."
Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: "These bonuses are a contractual obligation and the ODA have far exceeded their performance targets on site as well as delivering hundreds of millions of pounds worth of savings this year."
