A former employee of Tower Hamlets council received a ‘golden goodbye’ of �249,000 in the last financial year, despite the authority’s continued drive to make savings of �90m over four years.

The total sum received by the employee upon termination of their contract included a compensatory payment by the council into the employee’s pension scheme.

The council confirmed it had made the payout, but declined to disclose the identity of the recipient of the payout or any further details, citing “confidentiality rules”.

Despite Tower Hamlets’ status as one of the most deprived local authorities in Britain, a total of five staff received payouts of more than �100,000 each in the 2011/12 financial year. The council has previously paid out huge sums to senior figures on their departure, mosty notably in 2009, when former chief executive Martin Smith received �500,000 in compensation.

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, commented: “Tower Hamlets Council have a history of making huge redundancy pay-outs. The size of the overly generous golden goodbyes are in stark contrast to the deprivation found in some parts of the borough.”