Tories 'horrified' by £128m spent on bonuses for civil servants

Bonuses paid to civil servants spiralled beyond £128m in the last financial year with staff on average taking home at least £7,000 in rewards.

Shadow Treasury chief secretary Philip Hammond said taxpayers would be "horrified" at footing the bill for the pay-outs.

The figures were unlocked by the Tories through Parliamentary Questions and led to accusations that Labour has created a "something-for-nothing culture".

The breakdown of bonuses showed officials in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport pocketed average payments of more than £11,000, with senior colleagues in the Home Office and Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs each averaging more than £9,000.

The Ministry of Defence was the biggest payer of bonus payments, handing out £41.3m to staff – an average of £7,100 each.

Mr Hammond said: "Many families who are finding themselves squeezed between stagnant earnings and soaring living costs will be horrified by the use of £128m of taxpayers' money to pay bonuses to civil servants.

"With Government failing on so many fronts, this looks like a something-for-nothing culture."