Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he is “completely in control” following a row within Government over his top adviser’s pay.
Disclosures that Sue Gray, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, received a pay rise after the election which means she earns more than Sir Keir have sparked a row within Government and prompted opposition critics to demand answers about how the decision was made.
But Sir Keir would not be drawn into the row as he spoke to broadcasters before Labour’s party conference this weekend, only insisting his team was focused on his Government’s “big mandate to deliver change”.
The BBC said a number of Whitehall sources had briefed the organisation on Ms Gray’s salary increase, meaning she earns about £3,000 more than Sir Keir, who is paid about £167,000.
Sir Keir signed off a rebanding of the salaries for special advisers shortly after taking office in July, according to the BBC.
This is not reflected in the most recent publicly available report outlining special adviser salaries and pay bands, which is from July 2023.
The appointment of Ms Gray, a former senior civil servant whose report into lockdown-era parties within Downing Street contributed to the downfall of then-prime minister Boris Johnson, to Sir Keir’s team has been controversial.
The BBC report on her pay is the latest of a number of negative stories about the aide, and comes amid suggestions of mounting acrimony at the heart of the new Government over her earnings.
Downing Street denied this week that there was a “nest of vipers” behind the scenes in Sir Keir’s administration after reports of tensions involving senior officials, including between Ms Gray and director of political strategy Morgan McSweeney.
Asked in an interview before the Labour Party conference why chief of staff Sue Gray was getting paid more than him, the Prime Minister told BBC South East he was “not going to get into discussions about individual salaries about any members of my staff”.
Pressed on whether he had a grip on his team following briefings about Ms Gray, Sir Keir 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.”
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds had earlier told Sky News ministers had “no political input” in the pay of their advisers, as he defended Sir Keir.
He said there was a “long-standing process” for determining earnings for aides and dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister had personally intervened to increase Ms Gray’s pay.
The focus on the chief of staff’s pay comes at an awkward time for the PM as it swiftly follows another row about his and his wife’s acceptance of lavish gifts from prominent Labour donor and peer Lord Alli.
Speaking to broadcasters on Thursday, Mr Reynolds stuck to the line that he has “no problem” with ministers getting a “chance for a little bit of relaxation” as part of their jobs.
Sir Keir has accepted around £39,000 from Lord Alli since December 2019, as well as nearly £40,000 in tickets from the Premier League.
These included four Taylor Swift tickets during the election campaign worth £4,000 and thousands of pounds worth of tickets to Arsenal games.
The Prime Minister would not be drawn into details about his football seating arrangements when asked about the matter by BBC Yorkshire.
Sir Keir confirmed he was still a season ticket holder, but said “security advice” suggested he should not sit in the stands or risk “the taxpayer an absolute fortune to put I don’t know how many police officers in”.
The Prime Minister would not be drawn into revealing if he would instead be watching from a box, as it would “reinvent the same problem we’re trying to avoid”, adding: “But yes I’m not going to be in the stands anymore.”
