Salary of senior civil servants hits £300,000

A bitter row erupted in Whitehall today over a pay award which could see the salaries of a small group of senior civil servants hit £300,000.

At the same time, the poorest performers are being offered rises of between 0 and 2 per cent.

The most highly regarded civil servants are being offered bonuses of up to nine per cent of their earnings - a scheme which could see some break the £300,000 barrier next year.

But some officials, including juniors in the office of the Treasury Solicitor, have been offered as little as 0.5 per cent.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, called the discrepancy "deplorable".