Andrew Rhodes | Vox Political

Sir Robert Devereaux.

These are the civil servants who have been rewarded with huge bonuses for creating a ‘benefit’ system that causes hardship and death:

Department for Work and Pensions Permanent secretary Sir Robert Devereux last year got up to £20,000 on top of his £185,000 salary. This year there was no bonus but his pay hit £190,000.

Neil Couling, director general of Universal Credit, got a bonus of up to £20,000 last year and a £125,000 salary. This year instead of a bonus his salary leapt to £145,000 a year.

Jeremy Moore, strategy director, had a £20,000 bonus two years running – taking his total pay to £155,000 a year.

Mayank Prakash, director general of digital technology, got up to £20,000 this year on top of his £200,000 salary – so he earned more than his boss Sir Robert.

And Andrew Rhodes, operations director, had a bonus of between £10,000 and £15,000 this year, taking his pay to £155,000 a year. He also claimed £37,600 in travel expenses.

(Information from the Daily Mirror article.)

These are not people who have been forced into carrying out this attack on decent people who have no choice but to claim help from the state; there is no low-payment poverty trap hanging over them like the Sword of Damocles.

They are very rich people, who command high prices for their work – even though that work has been substandard to the point of causing harm to the public.

What conclusion may we draw from the high rewards they have received?

Simply that their work was always intended to harm the public, and they are happy to have achieved that aim.

There will be no penalty for these five while a Conservative government – even a minority government – runs the United Kingdom.

But let us hope the Labour Party does not declare any amnesty for these villains. Evil on this scale deserves the strongest possible punishment.

Five highly-paid civil servants have had bonuses of up to £20,000 – and even pay rises – for devising a new benefit system causing hardship and misery for thousands.

Many people claiming the new Universal Credit have had no money for up to six weeks because of computer issues and slow helplines in trial areas.

A national roll-out of the benefit – meant to replace Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Child and Working Tax Credit, and some disability benefits – is behind schedule.

But bosses at the Department for Work and Pensions got bonuses for “top performance” and “leadership” – sparking fury from Labour MPs.

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