David Miliband has snagged a $1.25 million (£1 million) annual pay package from a taxpayer-funded aid charity that’s slashing jobs and programmes as it dives into the red. The Mail has more.
The ex-Labour Foreign Secretary’s salary from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) – given at least £33 million last year by the Government to alleviate poverty and assist refugees – is disclosed in data sent to U.S. tax authorities.
It reveals that Mr. Miliband – who hit out at “immoral” fat-cats during his failed bid for the Labour leadership – collected $1,253,728 in 2022 as President and Chief Executive: almost six times more than Sir Keir Starmer is paid to run the country.
Although Mr. Miliband’s mega pay package included a $150,000 bonus, he has had to warn staff about the need for “rigorous prioritisation of spending” after the charity suffered a $50 million deficit this year due to accounting failures and overspending.
MPs have condemned his salary, with Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat saying: “The IRC is meant to be there for people suffering from the impact of humanitarian crises, not enriching its boss. This is why successive U.K. governments have supported its work with millions from the aid budget.”
The Tory leadership contender said this “outrageously large wage” was “shocking”, considering the IRC’s financial woes. “It needs to re-evaluate its choices and prioritise helping those in need rather than lining the pockets of its CEO.”
The tax data shows Mr. Miliband’s pay soared $111,314 over the previous year – with a housing allowance of $50,000. …
The charity’s second highest paid staff member was Chief Operating Officer Madlin Sadler, Mr. Miliband’s former special adviser in government who ran his botched leadership bid in 2010. Her salary package surged by $31,105 to $528,466.
Total cash pocketed by the ten top IRC executives was $5,209,634, fuelling fears that some charity chiefs are milking aid budgets while pleading for more funds from the public purse.
One senior IRC figure told the MoS it was “demoralising” for staff to be led by someone earning “a millionaire’s salary” at a time when they face humanitarian pressures around the planet.
“This disparity is troubling as the organisation faces significant financial challenges and staff are at imminent risk of losing their jobs,” said the source.
Documents seen by this newspaper show the IRC – which the physicist Albert Einstein helped found in 1933 to support refugees fleeing Nazi Germany – faced a $50 million deficit this year due to fund-raising shortfalls and cost over-runs, despite a $16.5 million bequest.
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