Sir Keir Starmer has hit out after it was revealed that there was a row within the Government over staff pay.
It has emerged that the PM’s Chief of Staff, Sue Gray, received a pay rise, which means she is now on a higher salary than him.
Ms Gray asked for and was given a salary of £170,000 after July’s election – about £3,000 more than the Prime Minister and more than her Conservative predecessor, Rishi Sunak’s Chief of Staff.
One source told the BBC: “It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the Prime Minister to avoid this very story. She declined.”
Her salary has proved particularly controversial partly because other advisers believe they are being underpaid.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC: “We’re very lucky to have Sue.”
Pressed on Ms Gray’s pay by the BBC, Starmer said he was “not going to get into discussions about individual salaries”.
But when he was asked about the anonymous briefings and whether he was in control of his team, he said: “I’m completely in control.
Keir Starmer has insisted he is ‘completely in control’
PA
“I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver.”
With that in mind, do you think Keir Starmer is wrong to defend Sue Gray’s pay rise? Have your say by voting in the poll above.