Bumbling Whitehall chiefs land huge bonuses despite series of embarrassing bungles

WHITEHALL chiefs and other mandarins have landed huge bonuses despite repeated embarrassing bungles.

They include Foreign Office officials who left thousands at the mercy of the Taliban but have been given up to £10,000 extra.

Thomas Drew, a director general, is among them.

Last summer, thousands of Afghans who helped or worked with Britain were left stranded in the capital Kabul as it fell to the fanatics.

Meanwhile, Parole Board boss Martin Jones, who released rapists and dangerous cons back onto the nation’s streets, was also handed performance related cheques.

Homes England bosses, who have missed house building targets, got up to £25,000.

And Competition and Markets Authority chiefs — failing to tackle petrol pump inflation — got up to £20,000.

Danielle Boxall, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers won’t tolerate these bumper bonuses for public sector bosses.

“Working families want to know that they are getting value for money from public services, not forking out for failing officials.”

An Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are proud of our staff who have worked tirelessly on important areas of work, such as responding to the Ukraine crisis and helping over 15,000 people leave Afghanistan within a fortnight.

“Performance-related pay is a normal part of ensuring that civil servants are incentivised to deliver value as effectively as possible for the taxpayer.”

The CMA said its performance-related bonuses are “awarded in line with Civil Service guidance”.

And a Homes England spokesperson said: “Our senior executive salaries reflect the significant responsibilities of the roles, as well as being competitive in the market to attract the right talent.”

The Parole Board declined to comment.