"...capped at £24k in most cases."

That's £24K per year. You note, of course, that all the MPs caught out use the excuse, "the fees office said it was OK." Not one says, "I'm worth it."

You're right, Peter K: I had ignored the context in which you called the Lords "a mess." Sorry.

But I still disagree with most of what you say: for instance, if a company director pays himself large amounts of money and his company's shareholders do not vote him off the board next AGM then they obviously think he's worth it, so who are you to call his salary "obscene?" Directors are probably more accountable than MPs, and shareholders look to maximise their returns.