Nirj Deva, Member of the European Parliament for South East England has today spoken of his disgust after his colleagues voted to increase the pay of Members of the European Parliament from £55,000 a year to £8,500 a month - £72,000 a year.

Previously the salaries of Members of the European Parliament had been linked to those of Westminster MPs who are paid a salary of £55,000 a year. The salary of an MEP will be exactly half that of a European court judge.

This inflation-busting increase will be coupled with a daily attendance fee of £125, paid every time an MEP chooses to walk through the front door of the European Parliament, leaving many pocketing an extra £925 a week.

Speaking from his London office, the MEP said:

“I voted against these shocking salary increases, whilst my Lib Dem and Labour colleagues in the South of England backed this perverse pay-hike.

“Conservatives were seeking a deal that meant that MEPs' pay does not exceed the pay of an MP, that UK MEPs pay the same tax as our constituents and that the expenses system is cleaned up.

“Whilst we won some important concessions, especially on the issue of travel expenses where previously MEPs had been able to claim the top-fee for the route they had traveled on, regardless of if they had traveled in first of economy class, but I simply could not support a deal where we are paid so much more than Westminster MPs.

“The gravy train has clearly spun out of control and I look forward to the likely response of the electorate to the actions of Labour and the Lib Dems at the European Parliament elections in June”.