Surrey County Council’s previous chief executive was among the highest paid managers in local government across the UK last year.

Conservative pressure group the Taxpayers’ Alliance published its annual “Town Hall Rich List”, which showed David McNulty was paid £230,719 in salary, with £4,289 of expenses.

For comparison, Prime Minister Theresa May is paid £150,402 a year.

A Surrey County Council spokesman said: “Since this report was done we’ve appointed a new chief executive in Joanna Killian who is paid £220,000 per annum.

“This is less than the annual salary for the last chief executive and it should be noted that Joanna is taking a significant pay cut to return to the public sector from KPMG.

“This fact highlights the challenges local government has in attracting the best possible staff and the decision to set her salary in the middle of the band is a reflection of the enormous experience and expertise she will bring to the role from both the private and public sector.”

The Taxpayers’ Alliance hopes releasing this information will put pressure on councils to reduce pay at the highest levels.

John O’Connell, the group’s chief executive, said: “There are talented people in the public sector who are trying to deliver more for less, but the sheer scale of these packages raises serious questions about efficiency and priorities.”