The former chief executive of Northamptonshire County Council, Peter Gould, topped the list of Britain's highest earning local government workers, with statistics showing he took home £215,000 in both 2005 and 2006.

In fourth place in the national league was the former chief executive of Northampton Borough Council, Mairi McLean, who took home £125,000 in 2005 and £205,000 in 2006.

The massive sums have been labelled a disgrace by politicians who have been campaigning for years to get top-earning civil servants' wages down.

The Conservative MP for Northampton South, Brian Binley, who is also a member of Northamptonshire County Council, was one of the main critics of the pay deal given to Peter Gould when he left the county council in June last year.

He said: "This is a totally disgraceful situation. It's totally unacceptable. Most rate payers in Northamptonshire don't even earn £25,000 a year, but Peter Gould left this authority at 53 with a £97,000 a year pension and a £291,000 pay-off."

He was backed by the opposition leader on the authority, Councillor John McGhee (Lab, Kingswood). He said: "It's a disgraceful situation to have happened, especially at a time when the Conservatives in charge of the council are shouting about a lack of resources. We're not even one of the biggest authorities around, but we seem to be paying some of the biggest salaries. It's just ridiculous."

The fat-cat table has been put together by campaign group, the Taxpayers' Alliance, using the Freedom of Information Act. The chief executives of Hull and Kensington councils sit in the second and third places in the league.

But in fourth place was former Northampton Borough Council boss Mairi McLean, who thanks to a severance package after she left the council in March last year, took home £205,000 in 2006-07.

The league table also detailed a further nine members of Northamptonshire County Council staff who earned between £105,000 and £145,000.