A former senior Government adviser received more than ? 50,000 of taxpayers' cash while on a zero hours contract, new figures show.
Sir Ken Knight collected ?53,635 while carrying out a major independent review into England's fire authorities and for also offering advice in his remaining weeks as the Government's chief fire and rescue adviser.
Fire Minister Brandon Lewis disclosed the costs to Parliament months after the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and a privacy watchdog said information about Sir Ken's zero hours contract payment was exempt from disclosure under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.
DCLG and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) stated the full costs did not have to be released as they are regarded as personal data.
Sir Ken's payment revealed in Parliament was for the period January 1, 2013, to June 22, 2013, although the former London Fire Commissioner transferred onto the zero hours contract in November 2012.
He worked for 119.5 days under that contract arrangement, according to an FOI response.
Sir Ken's review found fire services spend according to the budget they are given rather than the risks they have to manage, and suggested nearly ?200 million could be saved or reinvested.
But it was labelled as "just a fig leaf for slashing our fire and rescue service to bits" by the Fire Brigades Union.
Mr Lewis, replying to a written question from Labour MP Mary Glindon, said: "Sir Ken Knight worked on his independent review between January 1 and June 22 2013.
"He was paid ?53,635 during this period.
"Between January 1 and January 28, 2013, Sir Ken was also the Government's chief fire and rescue adviser in addition to conducting initial fieldwork for his review.
"His salary rate while working on the Knight review was in line with his previous salary rate when he was chief fire and rescue adviser."
In June 2013, Mr Lewis named Sir Ken as DCLG's "one senior civil servant in a professional role" on a zero hours contract when replying to written question from Labour MP Pamela Nash.
