Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss urged officials to "speak softly but carry a big stick" on public sector pay during her time as a Treasury minister.
The former Chief Secretary said she wanted to make pay deals for nurses, teachers, soldiers and the police "so complicated that no-one knows what the overall figure is".
A leaked recording of a private meeting with Treasury officials, obtained by the Mirror, prompted claims she had adopted a "cynical and deliberate strategy" of holding down public sector pay.
