New data shows eight bosses working at NHS Test and Trace are earning more than the Prime Minister despite prolonged criticism and concern over the system's success.
The Covid contact tracing system has faced a barrage of criticism since its inception last May, but shocking new data reveals its highest paid staff are paid almost £250,000-a-year.
The news comes amid concerns over the effectiveness of the £37 billion Test and Trace organisation - which failed to hit a number of its key targets according to a recent report.
New data from the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year indicate that eight of the 10 most lucrative salaries at the Department of Health and Social Care belonged to the much-maligned NHS Test and Trace team.
The majority of its highest paid staff come from the retail industry, including former supermarket chiefs, motor industry specialists and a BT boss.
The Telegraph reports most Test and Trace bosses are paid in excess of £200,000-a- year, a sizeable chunk more than Prime Minister Boris Johnson's reported £157,372 income in 2020-21.
Gareth Williams (left), Test and Trace's chief operating officer, and Ben Stimson, chief customer officer until he left in May, pocketed between £240,000 and £245,000-a-year
Philip Huggins, the organisation's chief information security officer, earns between £180,000 to £185,000-a-year
Mark Hewlett, the testing chief operating officer and former Aldi boss, netted between £220,000 and £225,000 a year
Records show Gareth Williams, the service's chief operating officer, and Ben Stimson, chief customer officer until he left in May, pocketed between £240,000 and £245,000-a-year.
Both men had strong links to the supermarket industry before joining Test and Trace, with Mr Williams formerly a human resources director at Sainsbury's, while Mr Stimson worked as a retail director at Waitrose.
Mark Hewlett, the testing chief operating officer and former Aldi boss, netted between £220,000 and £225,000-a-year, while two others, Simon Bolton - former tech boss at Jaguar Land Rover - and Adam Wheelwright, an ex-banking executive, took home £200,000 to £205,000.
Former Astra Zeneca tsar Robert Howes, who oversees Test and Trace's Royal Leamington Spa 'megalab', has a salary of £180,000 to £185,000, as does Philip Huggins, the organisation's chief information security officer.
Chief people officer Faran Johnson was paid the least at £160,000 to £165,000-a- year, according to the senior civil servant data.
Simon Bolton (left), former tech boss at Jaguar Land Rover, earned £200,000 to £205,000, as did Adam Wheelwright (right), an ex-banking executive
Robert Howes (pictured), who oversees Test and Trace's 'superlab' at Royal Leamington Spa, has a salary of £180,000 to £185,000
Chief people officer Faran Johnson was paid the least out of the Test and Trace bosses at £160,000 to £165,000 a year, according to the senior civil servant data
The release of their salaries comes amid mounting pressure in recent months over the cost and efficacy of the £37billion Test and Trace service.
The so-called 'pingdemic' led to 689,313 alerts being sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app last week telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.
Some frontline workers are exempt from isolation, including those in prisons, waste collection, defence, the food industry, transport, Border Force and police and fire services.
Daily negative test results enable those eligible workers who have been alerted by the NHS Covid-19 app or called by NHS Test and Trace as coronavirus contacts to continue working.
But many businesses have been left frustrated by thousands of staff having to isolate, even after having
