Civil servants at the Ministry of Defence were paid a staggering £57 million in bonuses during the last financial year, official figures reveal. This substantial payout occurred despite the department grappling with a multi-billion-pound funding crisis and an escalating threat of direct conflict with Russia.
Bonus Payments Soar Amidst Budget Shortfall
The £57 million total for 2024/25 represents a sharp increase of £25 million compared to the £32 million paid out in 2019. Since 2019, MoD civil servants have collectively been awarded bonuses totalling £200 million. This revelation comes just weeks after Britain’s most senior military officer, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, reportedly warned Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of a catastrophic £28 billion black hole in military funding.
The detailed breakdown shows that 24,215 MoD civil servants received non-consolidated, performance-related pay awards worth £23 million in the last year. While the maximum possible bonus was £5,000, not all staff received the top amount. However, the figures also expose significant six-figure bonuses awarded to several senior officials since 2019, raising serious questions about accountability.
Senior Officials Receive Lucrative Payouts
Among the high earners is Mike Green, chief executive of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which manages armed forces housing. In 2024, he earned over £160,000 and was entitled to a performance pay award of £17,000. This bonus was granted despite persistent and widespread complaints from service personnel and their families about the poor standard of accommodation managed by his department.
Another notable case is Andy Start, the CEO of Defence Equipment and Support. He received a colossal £160,000 bonus in 2024 on top of his annual salary of £290,000. Furthermore, three other executive directors were each handed bonus payments of £40,000 last year.
Calls for Accountability and Culture Change
The scale of the bonus payments has provoked fierce criticism from defence experts, who point to systemic failures within the department. Colonel Philip Ingram, a former Army intelligence officer, stated: ‘While I recognise many MoD civil servants work extremely hard and deliver real capability, there is no way that this level of bonus payments is justified.’
He highlighted a catalogue of problems, saying: ‘More programmes have been delayed or failed, recruitment and retention has got worse, the military can do less and less and no one has been held to account. The MoD has a track record for rewarding failure.’
Colonel Ingram argued for a fundamental shift, concluding: ‘If the MoD wants a bonus-driven culture it needs an accountability culture alongside it – if those who do well get bonuses, those who fail should be sacked.’ The juxtaposition of lavish bonus payouts with a £28 billion funding shortfall and heightened geopolitical threats presents a major challenge for the new Labour government, which must balance fiscal responsibility with national security.
