Disgust over MoD bonuses; OBSCENE: Families react angrily to pounds 300 million payouts.

Byline: Wesley Johnson

FAMILIES whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice for their country today reacted angrily to news that civil servants at the Ministry of Defence shared performance bonuses of almost pounds 300 million since the start of the war in Iraq.

Official MoD figures showed a total of pounds 287,809,049 has been paid out in bonuses to civil servants since 2003, including more than pounds 47 million this year.

Bereaved families said the bonuses were "absolutely disgusting" while troops were "making do" in Afghanistan.

Hazel Hunt, whose son died in August, said it was "obscene."

Private Richard Hunt was injured following an explosion while on vehicle patrol for the 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh in Helmand Province. The 21-year-old from Abergavenny, South Wales, died in hospital two days later.

Mrs Hunt said: "They are not delivering and I think it is obscene they have got such bonuses while our troops are being short changed; not only in equipment but also in the fact that my son was barely on pounds 17,000 a year.

"I think it is obscene, especially in the current climate with the recession and ordinary people losing their houses, including troops."

Phil Cooper - whose son received pounds 200,000 in compensation for injuries received in Iraq - said it was "absolutely disgusting that they can do this from the safety of their armchairs".

Jamie, then 18, became the youngest soldier to be injured in the conflict in 2006.

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

The lowest-paid Army privates earn pounds 16,681 a year, with a six-month tax-free operational allowance of pounds 2,380 if they are posted to Afghanistan.

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Injuries: Private Richard Hunt.