As much as it sticks in my throat to quote from the Daily Heil, I was taken aback by the following information:
"LADY THATCHER CLAIMS £535,000 IN FIVE YEARS
Lady Thatcher has claimed more than half a million pounds of taxpayers' cash in the last five years, the Government revealed tonight.
The 86-year-old Baroness, who is rarely seen in public and suffers ongoing health problems, benefited from the public duties cost allowance available to ex-prime ministers.Since 2006, she has claimed a total of £535,000 in state handouts.
The system was set up by John Major in 1991 to reward former incumbents of No 10 for work including answering letters and attending public events.
It has cost taxpayers more than £1.7 million in the past five years supporting Baroness Thatcher, her successor Sir John and, since 2007, former Labour premier Tony Blair.
Mr Blair, PM for a decade from 1997, has claimed just under £273,000 since leaving office in June 2007, including £169,076 in 2008-9 - more than his annual salary when he was in Downing Street.
Sir John, who ran the country from 1990 to 1997, has netted a total of £490,000 over the last five years.
Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, who revealed the figures following a written Parliamentary question from Tory MP Philip Hollobone (Kettering), said: 'The public duties cost allowance is kept under review."
The news comes in the same week at the Ministry of Defence reclaimed £433 from the late Lance Corporal Jordan Bancroft's pay because he was paid a month in advance and was killed whilst on duty in Helmand Province, 10 days before the end of the month. According to Private Eye his then bossed, Liam Fox who resigned before he was pushed will be paid 3 months ministerial pay as severance......................strange old world!
Full Version: So we are all in this together?
This has disgsuted me, this story that was quoted by humpty.
Hmm...
That means the ex-PMs are, on average, getting about a £100,000 a year to run their office. The salaries of admin staff, premises, cost of travel...
It sounds a lot, but I'm inclined to think it's probably the going rate for these sorts of activities. If, OTOH, they were pocketing the money themselves and doing Sweet FA in return, that would be a different matter. Is there any suggestion they are?
That means the ex-PMs are, on average, getting about a £100,000 a year to run their office. The salaries of admin staff, premises, cost of travel...
It sounds a lot, but I'm inclined to think it's probably the going rate for these sorts of activities. If, OTOH, they were pocketing the money themselves and doing Sweet FA in return, that would be a different matter. Is there any suggestion they are?
QUOTE(Humpty Dumpty @ Oct 28 2011, 20:34) 
...the Ministry of Defence reclaimed £433 from the late Lance Corporal Jordan Bancroft's pay because he was paid a month in advance and was killed whilst on duty in Helmand Province, 10 days before the end of the month. According to Private Eye his then bossed, Liam Fox who resigned before he was pushed will be paid 3 months ministerial pay as severance......................strange old world!
That's the worst bit of the story for me. It's just outrageous.
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