Paddington duo's £3.5m pensions

TWO bosses of the firm that operated one of the trains in the Paddington disaster have pension pots totalling almost £3.5m, it has been revealed.

Details of the retirement scheme enjoyed by Martin Ballinger, chief executive of Go-Ahead Group, and his deputy Chris Moyes, were published for the first time in the 2003 accounts.

Go-Ahead operated the Thames Trains commuter service that jumped a red light in October 1999 before colliding with an oncoming Great Western express, killing 31 people. More than 70 are still waiting for compensation.

The accounts show that Ballinger, 59, had a pension pot worth almost £1.9m in June, up from £1.6m last year. The final-salary scheme would pay him a £153,000 pension if he retired now.

The figures also show that Ballinger's pay package rose

4% from £348,000 to £361,000 last year. It included a £57,000 bonus on top of base pay of £288,000.

Moyes, 54, has a pension pot of almost £ 1.4m, due to pay £143,000 a year when he retires. He earned

£342,000 last year.