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More 4 News has obtained information under the Freedom of Information Act which has revealed that Westminster spent £5m of public money on bonuses for staff during the 2007/08 financial year. That would have added £39 to that year's average 'band D' Council Tax bill.

An individual breakdown of bonuses awarded to council employees on very high salaries, released today by the TaxPayers' Alliance, revealed that £452,500 of the £5m went to the 17 Westminster council employees who each earned at least £100,000 that year.

Former Westminster chief executive Peter Rogers collected £42,500, taking his total package to £205,000 - more than the Prime Minister earns in a year. This was the highest bonus paid to any council employee in the country, according to the results of the Freedom of Information Act request.

The exact total paid in bonuses by Westminster council during 2007/08 was £4,992,285. This was the third highest total of all the 280 councils who provided information, behind only Birmingham and Kirklees. The only other London council in the top 20 was the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which like Westminster is Conservative-controlled. They paid a lot less however, at £1.7m.

The astonishing figures follow the recent revelation that Westminster council has spent tens of thousands of pounds leasing flash cars, such as the BMW Z4, for top staff.