More than 140 quango chiefs, including some of the key figures behind preparations for the London 2012 Olympics, earn more than the Prime Minister, new Cabinet Office figures have revealed.
They are each paid more than the £150,000 to which David Cameron was entitled until he took a £7,500 pay cut when he arrived in office in May, reports the Independent newspaper.
Britain's highest-paid quango official is David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), who is paid between £390,000 and £394,999.
Seven other ODA officials draw salaries that dwarf the Prime Minister's income, earning more than £2m between them.
The ODA's director of construction, Howard Shiplee, receives £285,000 to £289,999; its finance director, Dennis Hone, is paid between £265,000 and £269,999; and the ODA chairman, John Armitt, takes home £250,000 to £254,999. Four other ODA directors are on salaries of more than £200,000.
Bosses at the ODA have been accused of being the "bankers of the Olympics" by London politicians for refusing to curb their salaries and bonuses at a time when the public sector faces a pay freeze and job losses.
But the ODA has defended the lucrative pay packages, saying they reflect the need to pay the market rate and recruit the best-qualified people.
Mr Armitt said last year: "We are a market economy and we pay people according to the salaries they can demand, according to the skills they have. I'm not considering reducing my salary and I certainly would not dream of asking to reduce the chief executive's."
