Bexley Council paid more than £1.3m in salaries to just nine staff last year.

In a council which prides itself in being prudent with its cash, chief executive Will Tuckley was revealed as one of the 1,000 most highly paid public sector workers out of more than 38,000 in the country.

His salary package of £206,439 is just £418 less than the judges who sit in the UK’s Supreme Court, the highest court in the land.

Mr Tuckley is the 37th highest paid local government worker in the UK, in figures collected by the BBC Panorama programme and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

He also earns more than the chief executives in the other surrounding London boroughs where Barry Quirk (Lewisham) earned £192,387; Mary Ney (Greenwich) was paid £189,999 and Doug Patterson (Bromley) got £188,785.

Meanwhile the Prime Minister earns £142,500.

But Mr Tuckley is not Bexley’s only high earner.

Three others also earned more than the prime minister Deborah Absalom, director of children’s services took home £178,892, only £9,961 less than Bromley chief executive.

Hot on her heels was the director of environmental and regeneration services, Peter Ellershaw, who chalked up £178,716.

The director of social and community services, Mark Charters was paid £144,602 while the director of finance Mike Ellsmore received £115,522.

Also on the list were four other unnamed council officers who also earned more than £100,000 last year.

They earned salary packages of around £127,500, £122,500, £112,500 and £107,500.

These are likely to include the assistant chief executive, Andrew Cresswell and director of customer services Paul Moore.

Bexley Council defended their pay saying: "Bexley is among the country’s most successful and efficient councils.

"We need to attract and retain highly skilled and experienced staff from a range of professional disciplines, to provide our residents with the services they deserve."

A spokeswoman added: "Our chief executive and directors manage services for more than 220,000 residents and a total budget of around £0.5 billion.

"We are facing a period of major challenges for local councils and we need experienced and capable people to guide us through this period of change.

She pointed out:"Neighbouring boroughs' latest online statements of accounts show Bexley pays a lower or comparable number of people £100,000.

"Greenwich has 23 senior officers on a salary over £100,000, Bromley has 13 and Lewisham has nine, as have we."

She said: "We are currently reviewing all the Council’s services and spending as a result of planned cuts in public spending.

"We anticipate the outcome will include reductions in our staffing and management costs."

Meanwhile a question about Bexley Council chief executive Will Tuckley’s salary to November’s council meeting has been ruled out of order by the council.

Sidcup resident John Watson asked the council to cut Mr Tuckley’s wages by £100,000 and to spend the cash on children’s services instead.

Mr Watson suggested if Mr Tuckley refused, Bexley should either find a new chief executive prepared to take the salary cut, or abolish the post altogether and spend all of the money helping the borough’s children.

Bexley says the question was unacceptable because under its standing orders the council cannot debate its staff’s salaries, even when they are already in the public domain.

Mr Watson said he was concerned the council had devised standing orders specifically to block discussion of Mr Tuckley's pay, which also blocked any dialogue with residents