A major pressure group has said Haringey Council paid more staff six-figure sums than any other council in the country last year.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance said that 68 members of staff on the council earned more than £100,000 in 2013/14.

The council has said that the figures are high because of a number of redundancy payments made that year.

The council also rejected claims made by a national newspaper that council members had been paid the large sums not to speak about council failings.

The figures come from the TaxPayers' Alliance "Town Hall Rich List", an annual guide to local government executive pay.

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Local authorities that are providing more for less and delivering council tax cuts clearly have talented people at the helm, but taxpayers living in poorly performing areas will be furious at the scale of some of these massive pay awards.

“After more than a decade of reckless spending and council tax hikes, local politicians now have to make necessary savings and the pay and perks for the town hall elite have to come under the spotlight.

“We all deserve to know how our money is being spent, and taxpayers should have the right to decide if they are getting value for their money from public servants.”

The millions of pounds in serverance packages were paid in the same year that Mary Stroman, 16, committed suicide after claims of sexual abuse were not acted upon. A report last month criticised police and the council for "serious failings" in the case.

The figures come weeks after a poverty report found Haringey to be one of the eight most impoverished boroughs in London.

Cllr Gail Engert, Haringey Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition, said: "It is shocking that so many of Haringey's staff have been paid so much. The money would be much better spent on services for the young and vulnerable.

"Local residents pay the fifth highest council tax in London and they rightly expect that money to be spent on services."

Haringey Council rejected any claims that there are many staff earning six figures a year regularly, saying that the figures in the press include redundancy payments when they were going through “significant staff losses.”

A Haringey Council spokesperson said that they have reduced their workforce by a third, they say saving taxpayers £120m.

They claim that, of the 2,600 staff who remain, 15 people earn more than £100,000.

The Daily Mail claimed in its Monday front page investigation into national council spending that Haringey spent nearly £1million on severance packages with confidentiality clauses, and up to £12.6million on pay-offs of 560 staff over the last three years.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Haringey is a very different council today. Occasionally, just like all councils and private companies, we need to use comprise agreements to resolve complex issues, often to prevent the need for costly disputes.

“We did so in 31 out of 560 cases, yet in 2013/14 only two of those were in social care, which underlines how ludicrous it is to suggest that they are designed to prevent staff from speaking out.

“We actively encourage staff to raise any concerns through our robust whistle-blowing policy.”