I’m in control, says Keir Starmer after Sue Gray pay leaks

The Prime Minister insisted he was “in full control” of matters after the BBC revealed a row within the government over staff pay.

It has emerged that Sue Gray, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, has received a pay rise that means she is now on a higher salary than he.

The story, seen by the BBC through a number of sources, paints a picture of strained relations at the heart of government, less than three months after Labour won the general election.

Asked by BBC South East political editor Charlotte Wright about a series of informal briefings on Ms Gray, the prime minister said: “I am focused and every day the message I give to the team is exactly the same, which is that we must deliver.”

“We were elected with a strong mandate to deliver change. I am determined to deliver,” he added.

In interviews with other BBC regional political editors, Sir Keir said: He defended his decision to accept hospitality from Arsenal. A British football club has announced that it will not be able to use its season ticket as prime minister.

The Premier League club has allocated two seats for the Prime Minister in the corporate area at the Emirates Stadium.

He said he was told that using his regular seat would cost taxpayers more in security costs.

He added that he would “prefer to be in the stands”, but accepting a corporate ticket was “a perfectly reasonable arrangement”.

The BBC revealed on Wednesday that it had learned that Ms Gray had asked for and received a salary of £170,000 after the July election – about £3,000 more than the prime minister and more than her Conservative predecessor, Rishi Sunak’s chief of staff.

“It was suggested that she might want to take a few thousand pounds less than the prime minister to avoid this same story, but she refused,” a source told the BBC.

But others in government have spoken out passionately in defence of Ms Gray, believing there is a misplaced, deeply unfair and highly personal campaign against her.

Her salary has proven particularly controversial because other consultants believe they are underpaid.

Most of them expected a pay raise when they joined the government, only to find out they would be paid less.

Many frustrated councillors blame Ms Gray specifically – although others insist that pay is a civil servant issue.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has rejected suggestions the Prime Minister personally intervened to increase Ms Gray’s pay, saying ministers had “no say” in what their advisers were paid.

“There is a process in place, a civil service process, and it has not changed. It would be wrong to say that there is any kind of political input into it or that people set their own salary ranges.

“I can’t even say what my advisers are paid… I think there have always been officials who are paid more than politicians in our system and that hasn’t changed,” he said. He told BBC Breakfast:.

Mr Reynolds admitted that leaks about government issues such as Ms Gray’s salary were “disturbing” and “constantly frustrating”.

“Ms Gray is continuing her work in this government, delivering on our promises. I think that’s what matters more than anything else to anyone working in Downing Street,” he told Sky News.

Speaking on Wednesday, Health Minister Wes Streeting told the BBC: “We are very lucky to have Sue.”

The appointment of Ms. Gray, a former senior civil servant, Report on Covid lockdown parties in Downing Street He contributed to the downfall of then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in Sir Keir’s team last year. It was controversial..

In recent weeks, she has been the subject of a series of reports about growing divisions at the heart of the new government, which has included Ms Gray, Labour’s director of political strategy Morgan McSweeney, and Cabinet minister Simon Case.

Over the weekend, Sir Keir Downplay these stories.“Most of them are completely wrong,” he said.

The Conservatives questioned whether the Prime Minister had personally signed off on Ms Gray’s new salary and the increase in the cap on the top pay band.

They also asked whether the special advisers’ remuneration committee still existed, whether Ms Gray was a member of it, and what role she played in setting her own salary and changing pay bands.

Shadow Commons leader Chris Philp told the BBC: “The prime minister’s chief of staff will get a massive pay rise. Meanwhile, the Labour government is cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners on half the minimum wage.

“It’s pay rises for Labour members and pay cuts for pensioners in need.”

Guto Hari, former Downing Street communications director under Boris Johnson, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Matt Chorley said: That getting a higher salary than your boss at No. 10 was “totally unacceptable.”

“If you accept a job at No 10, no matter how valuable you are, no matter how much you earned before, it’s not good to ask for more than the job of prime minister,” he said.