Mother 'appalled' by MoD bonuses

Jason Mackie died in an explosion in May in Helmand Province

The mother of an Oxfordshire soldier killed in Afghanistan said she is "appalled" at the bonuses paid to staff at the Ministry of Defence.

Figures released by the Conservatives revealed that £47m was paid to MoD civil servants in performance-related bonuses this year.

Lee Mackie from Bampton, whose son Jason was killed in May, said the money could be spent on better equipment.

But the MoD said the pay awards had no impact on the equipment budget.

The MoD says 50,000 staff got bonuses under previously arranged pay deals, averaging less than £1,000 each.

'Earning peanuts'

But Mrs Mackie said her son was paid £15,000 after nine months of intensive training to be a marine.

"Our boys on the front are earning peanuts and they are the ones that are putting their lives on the line not the pen-pushers of the MoD," she said.

Royal Marine Jason Mackie, 21, from the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group, died in May when his vehicle was struck by a bomb in Helmand Province.

"We've just lost the most men in Afghanistan since the Falklands War and they're trying to tell me that they're giving bonuses for good performance, I really can't understand this," she added.

Mrs Mackie believes the money should be spent on buying new helicopters, better equipment and extra soldiers.

An MoD spokesman said: "These pay awards are met from within salary budget and have no impact on the operational or equipment budget."

The spokesman added that the sum, paid between April and October, was not expected to increase significantly before the end of the financial year.