NINE council officials in Manchester earn more than £100,000 a year, a town hall `rich list' today reveals.

Manchester Council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein tops the list on £186,000, just £2,000 less than the prime minister.

The `rich list' - published by the TaxPayers Alliance - shows that 88 top town hall officials across the country earn more than £150,000 a year, 14 earn more than Gordon Brown and 132 get more than a Cabinet minister, on £138,000.

The Alliance compares the salaries with the pay of a nurse (£22,000), a police officer (£20,000) and a soldier (£15,300).

The figures, obtained using Freedom of Information laws, show Sir Howard's deputy Steve Mycio earns £116,800, as does his other deputy, Eamonn Boylan.

City treasurer Richard Paver makes £133,000, director of children's services Pauline Newman £116,600, and capital programme director John Lorimer £100,200.

The figures also show that:

Salford's chief executive Barbara Spicer is paid £132,667, strategic director of health Anne Williams £105,200 and director of children's services Jill Baker £105,200.

Rochdale's executive director (environmental services) John Patterson is on nearly £106,000 a year, Bury's chief executive Mark Sanders £124,200 and Trafford's chief executive David McNulty £143,600.

In Stockport the chief executive John Schultz is on £145,700 and the deputy chief executive Ged Lucas on £110,300.

In Tameside chief executive Janet Callender earns £155,000 and in Wigan the interim executive director Bob Saunders is on £110,200.

Bolton and Oldham councils failed to respond to requests for pay details.

Normally local authorities do not make their executives' pay details public. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Alliance, said taxpayers had a right to know how much senior town hall officials were being paid so they could judge whether they deserved it.

He said: "Too often, council executives are rewarded handsomely even when they fail. Families and pensioners are struggling with the demands of yet another council tax rise and councils owe it to them to cut executive pay hikes."

The top council earner in the country is the chief executive of Northamptonshire council, on £215,000 a year. Six executives in town hall's in the south of England earn more than Gordon Brown, over £200,000 a year, and had average rises last year of 4.6 per cent.