MOD Bonus Balls
Outrage at £47m bonus for MoD pen pushers
The defence minister Kevan Jones revealed that, in the seven months from April to October, MoD staff received bonuses totalling £47,283,853.
The figure was down on the £52,984,656 paid out in 2008-9, but it was higher than the previous year's £46,103,238 and almost double the bonuses totalling £24,866,213 paid out in 2003-4.
The official MoD figures showed a total of £287,809,049 has been paid out in bonuses to civil servants since 2003 – the year Britain went to war in Iraq.
Phil Cooper, whose son, Jamie, received £200,000 in compensation for injuries suffered in Iraq – last night condemned the bonuses as "absolutely disgusting".
Private Cooper, then aged 18, became the youngest soldier to be injured in the conflict in 2006.
His father said he was "laughing with astonishment" at news of the bonus pay-outs, adding: "What exactly have they done to earn that? How do they justify it?
"I find it ludicrous," Mr Cooper said. "It makes me angry that they are being paid £47 million to pat themselves on the backs.
Yes, what exactly have they done to earn that? What have they done above and beyond their salaried job to deserve a bonus? What risks have they taken that deserve a reward?