It seems not even the might of the Government has been able to lift the veil of secrecy that continues to disguise top council earners.

Merton Council has defied an edict by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who called on town halls nationwide to release details of all employees earning more than £58,200 by April 1.

A council spokeswoman, while insisting Merton was “committed to transparency”, said they would instead publish them in June.

She said the two-month delay was because the council had not upgraded its payroll system and had not “consulted with the staff concerned”.

Councillor Debbie Shears, leader of the opposition, said: “Labour are again not being transparent in how they spend taxpayers’ money.

“Despite my warning in March’s council meeting that Labour was likely to miss this deadline, no action was taken. 

“This Conservative Government has pledged to make the spending of public money transparent, which clearly Councillor Stephen Alambritis does not take seriously.”

The non-revelation comes after the Taxpayers’ Alliance, the low-tax lobby group, discovered Merton had 26 employees earning at least £100,000.

Only 11 councils in England – four of them in London – employ that many people earning £100,000 or more.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “While councils insist cuts can only mean pressure on front-line services, some clearly have cash in the bank when it comes to paying their own senior staff. 

“These council executives must ensure they have the moral authority to lead necessary spending cuts, in many cases that will mean taking a pay cut themselves.”

But Councillor Mark Allison, Merton’s cabinet member for finance, said: “It is surprising the Tories are so obsessed about salaries, when nine of the country’s top 10 best-paid council officials are employed by them, and we in Merton have fewer people on high salaries than there were under the Tories two years ago.”

He said the council would publish the details once the staff affected had been consulted.

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