Boris Johnson is set to accept a £2,200 pay rise being given to all MPs next month as the cost-of-living crisis hits Brits.
Downing Street had urged the independent pay body to show "restraint" when it first proposed a 2.7% rise back in January.
But now that the rise from £81,932 to £84,144 next month has been confirmed, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said there is no way for him to turn it down.
The PM's spokesman added he will not cut the £75,440 top-up to his salary for being Prime Minister to compensate. He insisted that top-up had been frozen for years.
The spokesman declined to say whether the PM will donate the rise to charity.
Keir Starmer had also hit out at plans for the MPs' pay rise - which will still be outstripped by soaring inflation - due to the pain hitting millions of British families with National Insurance, energy bills and goods prices all going up.
The Labour leader's spokesman has not confirmed whether he, too, will pocket the rise.
No10 insisted "our nurses will be getting 3%" and teachers will also have pay rises, despite unions for these workers being furious that the rise is less than inflation after years of austerity.
The spokesman said: “This is a rise that is judged by IPSA, they are independent, it is a judgement for them to make, and there is no facility for it to be rejected.”
He added: “I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to pass judgement on decisions made by an independent body.”
He went on: "I'm not going to get into the charitable donations the Prime Minister makes, but it is true that he's not going to... in fact, he's not able to turn down that pay rise, which is independently judged by IPSA."
He added: “MPs have a vital role to play in a democratic society.”
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) revealed the annual pay hike for Members of Parliament for 2022-23 - after it was frozen for two years during the Covid-19 pandemic.
MPs’ pay is set by IPSA, the independent watchdog set up in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal.
The calculation is based on the average change in salaries for public sector workers in the last year.
Richard Lloyd, IPSA’s Chair, said: “This is the first increase in pay for MPs in two years and follows the average of increases across the public sector last year. MPs play a vital role in our democracy and this is reflected in their pay."
He added: "It is right that MPs are paid fairly for the responsibility and the unseen work they do helping their constituents, which dramatically increased last year.
"For Parliament to reflect society, it is vital that people from all walks of life can be an MP.”
