Row over Sue Gray's salary as Keir Starmer's chief of staff 'earns more than him'

The top salary under Rishi Sunak went to his chief of staff, Liam Booth-Smith, who was paid up to £149,999 - but the ceiling for special advisor pay had not been increased since 2019

A row has broken out in government after it emerged Keir Starmer's chief of staff is paid more than him.

Sue Gray reportedly asked for and was given a salary of £170,000 - some £3,000 more than that of the PM. The Prime Minister is said to have signed off new salary bands for special advisors shortly after taking office in July.

The top salary under Rishi Sunak went to his chief of staff, Liam Booth-Smith, who was paid between £140,000 and £149,999. But the ceiling for special advisor pay had not been increased since 2019 - since when there has been a 24.5% rise in inflation.

The BBC reported Ms Gray was alerted to the fact that her salary might make news. "It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the prime minister to avoid this very story," a source told the broadcaster. "She declined."

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "It is false to suggest that political appointees have made any decisions on their own pay bands or determining their own pay. Any decision on special adviser pay is made by officials, not political appointees. As set out publicly, special advisers cannot authorise expenditure of public funds or have responsibility for budgets."

The Conservative Party responded with a series of questions for Labour, including whether the Prime Minister personally signed off on Sue Gray's new salary and the increase to the cap on the highest pay band. They also asked whether a special adviser remuneration committee still exists and if Ms Gray is a member as well as what role she played in setting her own salary and changing pay bands.

Downing Street denied this week that there was a "nest of vipers" behind the scenes in Mr Starmer's administration following reports of tensions involving senior officials. Recent stories have alleged difficult relations between Mr Starmer's closest aides Ms Gray and director of political strategy, Morgan McSweeney, and suggestions of tensions between the chief of staff and special advisers.

Over the weekend, Mr Starmer sought to play down the rumours about Ms Gray, saying: "I'm not going to talk behind her back and I'm not going to talk about individual members of staff, whether it's Sue Gray or any other member of staff. All I can say about the stories is most of them are wildly wrong."

A Downing Street spokeswoman said Mr Starmer was satisfied that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case was not behind the leaks.