KEIR Starmer has insisted he is “completely in control” following a row within Government over his top adviser’s pay.
It emerged on Wednesday his chief of staff Sue Gray was paid more than him as a bitter war of words broke out over salaries at the top of Government.
Gray asked for and received a pay bump after Labour’s election victory which took her salary to £170,000 – £3000 more than the Prime Minister, any Cabinet minister, or her Conservative predecessor, the BBC reported.
Asked in an interview before the Labour Party conference why Gray was geting more money than him, the Prime Minister told the BBC’s South East political team: “I’m not going to get into discussions about individual salaries about any members of my staff. I’m sure you wouldn’t expect me to.”
Pressed on whether he had a grip on his team following briefings on the matter, he said: “I’m completely in control. I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver.
“We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change, I am determined that we are going to do that."
Earlier in the day, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds claimed ministers have “no political input” into pay of officials, as he said the Prime Minister did not intervene on the pay grade of Gray.
He told Sky News: “I think it’s important people understand that the pay bands for any official, any adviser, are not set by politicians. There’s an official process that does that.
“I don’t, for instance, get to set the pay for my own advisers who work directly for me. So, there’s a process, we don’t have political input into that.”
It was reported Gray's salary has ignited a row within the Government, with other senior members of staff complaining they are being underpaid.
Some officials who worked for Labour before the election are said to have expected pay bumps when the party came to power but are now being paid less.
Gray (above), a former senior civil servant, authored the report into Downing Street lockdown parties which contributed to the downfall of former prime minister Boris Johnson.
There is severe unhappiness with Gray’s position at the top of government among some insiders, who view her as acting as the unofficial “deputy prime minister”.
Gray, who previously held the role of permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office, was tasked with overseeing Labour’s preparations for government when she was poached from the civil service in 2023.
It comes after it was revealed Starmer has declared more than £100,000 of free tickets and gifts during his time as Labour leader.
According to reports, his total has now topped £100,000 as he has accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets, mostly to football matches but also £4000 of hospitality tickets at a Taylor Swift concert and £698 of Coldplay tickets.
