British civil servants at the Ministry of Defense have received huge bonuses this year, making families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan angry.

According to the ministry, 50,000 bureaucrats will receive average annual bonuses of about £1,000 by the end of the year, totaling over £47 million ($77.9 million).

Junior defense minister Kevan Jones released the figures in a written response to questions from the main opposition Conservatives in the parliament on Wednesday.

More senior public servants are receiving much higher performance payments and the total could top the £53 million handed out last financial year, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Thursday.

The revelation comes as public criticism of the UK's involvement in the Afghan war is growing amid rising numbers of the British troops death.

Lee Mackie, whose son Jason, was killed in Afghanistan in May, said the money would have been better spent helping serving soldiers.

"Every foot soldier is basically earning nothing. But they can give these huge bonuses while our boys give up their lives," the mother of three said.

"They all sit there behind their desks, not risking their lives, and yet they're earning these huge amounts of money."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been under pressure over his Afghan war strategy as military experts accuse the government of failing to properly support and equip troops on the frontline.

So far this year, 95 UK soldiers have died in Afghanistan, the highest casualty levels since the 1982 Falklands War. A total of 232 UK troops have died since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Britain has 9,000 troops in Afghanistan and Brown has authorized the deployment of another 500.

AGB/AKM