Double standards

Senior managers' pay has grown fastest in Whitehall, local government and the NHS over the last decade, with hundreds now earning more than Mr Brown himself who picks up 194,000.

Doubtless, there are those who would argue that it is necessary to

increase salaries, particularly for those with responsibility for budgets which can now exceed 1bn, to attract the best staff.

However, at a time when an unprecedented retrenchment in public finances is vital to the country, it is crucial the public sector shows restraint.

All this makes it a particularly bad moment for the Tory-run East Riding Council to hand a substantial pay-off to Sue Lockwood, the outgoing corporate resources director, after the authority came under fire for allowing senior officers to take large backdated pay rises in 2008.

Local authorities up and down the country will soon be forced to implement massive cuts in services and will doubtless approve further huge increases in council tax.

These will cause real pain to ordinary people who will have every justification for questioning why some staff are receiving rewards

which are simply excessive. East Riding councillors should think carefully about the precedent that they wish to set.