PARTY leaders have urged town hall chiefs to spill the beans over their salaries.

Their demands follow Bury Council’s refusal of a request to reveal who its top five earners are.

Opposition leaders have joined forces to call on the council to release the information.

In wake of the controversy, Bury Council leader, Cllr Bob Bibby, has agreed to hold talks with chief executive Mark Sanders.

Ratepayer lobby group The Taxpayers' Alliance asked every UK council to name their top-five earners, their roles, their salary and any salary increases.

Many councils across the UK replied, as did five in Greater Manchester.

Bury replied last time it was asked a year ago, but all it would say this year is its top five earners took home between £105,000 and £145,000 a year.

Labour leader, Cllr Mike Connolly said: “It is a disgrace. This is taxpayers’ money and they are entitled to know where it is going.

“If they won’t tell us who is earning what, you have got to ask — what are they hiding? If other councils can do it and if Bury has done it before, there is no excuse.”

Liberal Democrats leader, Cllr Tim Pickstone, said: “It worries me when any public body withholds information from the public, but this culture of secrecy seems typical of the way the Conservatives are running our town hall.”

Cllr Bibby said: “I don’t know why the request was not adhered to in full, but I will look into it and talk to the chief executive to find out and then see what we can do.”

He added: “What we want to make sure is that senior council employees are doing a good job. Publishing their salary doesn’t tell you much about that.

“What I can tell you is that our chief executive, our deputy chief executive and our treasurer get paid less than any of their counterparts at other Greater Manchester authorities, so I think Bury is very competitive on that front.”