Gap between rich and poor is 'a threat to society'

Reported annual pay packages of more than £6 million for some players, such as England and Chelsea defender John Terry, are more than 100 times what they should be, according to the YouGov study for think tank the Fabian Society.

Instead, those polled said top footballers should get £62,000 a year - half the proposed salary of £120,000 for managing directors of top companies and less than best-selling authors and GPs.

Reducing the rich-poor divide could bring society together and help lower crime levels, according to researchers.

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Co-author of the report Rachael Jolley said: "There is a sense that society works more fairly in countries where the gap between the richest and poorest is closest."

"Crime tends to be lower where there is a stronger sense of society."

"Progressive politicians should acknowledge that the public want the gap between rich and poor to be narrowed." Respondents recommended a salary of £135,000 for the prime minister - Gordon Brown's actual annual earnings are £187,611.

Another report author, Tom Hampson, said: "Our research shows that the public thinks that it is reasonable for the prime minister to be at the top of the earnings league ... but that he should not be earning as much as he does now."

"Acknowledging this unfairness in society is a challenge for Gordon Brown."

The lowest-paid workers, such as fast-food restaurant and supermarket check-out staff, deserved better pay and although senior figures deserved to be paid more, their salaries should not be out of touch with the rest of society, respondents said.

According to the Guardian Pay Survey, Tesco pays its staff an average of £11,594 a year, but those polled for the Fabian Society said £15,000 was a fair wage for supermarket workers.

The results came on the back of attacks on Premiership footballers' salaries from Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, who called Terry's salary "obscene".

He said: "I understand that a footballer's career is limited in time but people in the street cannot understand salaries like that."

The following were considered reasonable, fair salaries:

Prime minister - £135,000

MD of a top company - £120,000

Best-selling author - £80,000

GP - £70,000

Leading Premiership footballer - £62,000

State secondary school head teacher - £52,000

Experienced hospital nurse - £33,000

Local beat police officer - £29,500

Good local plumber - £28,500

Bus driver - £22,500

Supermarket check-out worker - £15,000

Fast-food restaurant worker - £14,000