A number of high-flying public sector lawyers have seen their pay packages disclosed this week (31 May) after the Cabinet Office issued a list of civil servants earning more than £150,000.

First parliamentary counsel Stephen Laws is among those with the highest public income, falling into the pay bracket £225,000-£229,999. Laws, a qualified barrister, joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in 1976.

A number of solicitors at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have also made the list, which features around 170 names in total. These include David Green QC, who is director of the revenues and customs division of the CPS and earns between £210,000 and £214,999, and director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC, who earns £195,000-£199,999.

Northern Ireland director of public prosecution Sir Alasdair Fraser QC features in the £170,000-174,999 bracket, while CPS chief executive Peter Lewis has a slightly smaller annual income, at £160,000-£164,999.

Separately, barrister Richard Alderman, the director of the Serious Fraud Office, has an annual salary of between £165,000-£169,999, and Treasury Solicitor Paul Jenkins QC earns between £155,000-£159,999.

The Ministry of Defence has the largest number of lawyers on the list, including its prosecutions director Bruce Houlder QC, whose salary is in the £150,000-£154,999 bracket.

Also included in the list in Philip Collins, the chairman of the Office of Fair Trading and a former partner at Lovells. Collins' salary is listed in the £175,000-£179,999 range.

The Cabinet Office was the first department to shed light on its pay roll data but all Government departments are set to follow suit in the coming weeks. The move has been badged as part of a transparency drive by the new coalition Government.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude (pictured) commented: "Transparency is at the heart of the Government's programme, which is why the Cabinet Office, at the heart of government, is taking the lead.

"We are pulling back the curtains to let light into the corridors of power. By being open and accountable we can start to win back people's trust.

"Transparency is key to our efficiency drive, and will enable the public to help us to deliver better value for money in public spending."

Click here to access the full list.