Prime Minister defends his chief of staff over her £170,000 pay and takes ‘responsibility’ for No 10 briefing war
Sue Gray’s salary should not be “the subject of public debate”, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted.
Defending his chief of staff after it emerged that she is paid £170,000 a year, £3,000 more than him, Sir Keir also said that he took “responsibility” for the No 10 briefing war that has erupted over her role.
Ms Gray, whose influence in Downing St has become a source of controversy, accompanied Sir Keir on a trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York after skipping Labour conference.
Asked about the row, the Prime Minister told the BBC: “I’m not going to discuss individual members of staff, whoever they are.
“I don’t believe that my staff should be the subject of public debate like this, and I’m not going to play any part in it.”
It came as the Prime Minister claimed that he had stayed at a Labour donor’s £18m penthouse in Covent Garden so that his son could revise for his GCSEs in peace.
Sir Keir said that he used the property belonging to Lord Alli, a media tycoon, because he made his son “a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed”.
He also faced fresh questions about the use of the flat after video suggested that he addressed the nation from it during the Covid crisis, in a message urging the public to work from home.
Ms Gray’s salary has caused dismay among other government special advisers, who have been forced to accept pay cuts.
But she has been defended by Cabinet ministers and No 10 allies who say she has been unfairly made a scapegoat for criticism.
The Prime Minister said he did “acknowledge that briefings are not helpful to the Government” when asked how he would put a lid on tensions in No 10.
He added: “It’s my job to deal with briefings and I take responsibility for that. But I get up every day to ensure that we’re delivering the change that we’re elected into government to deliver, as does every member of the Cabinet.”
Ms Gray skipped this week’s Labour Party conference in Liverpool following a week in which the spotlight on her role in government intensified.
But she did accompany Sir Keir on his trip to New York, having joined the Prime Minister on all his foreign visits since he entered Downing Street.
‘Shared strategy is good for the country’
The Prime Minister was separately asked by Channel 4 whether the Government was actually being run by his chief of staff and Rachel Reeves.
He replied: “The way we do it is as you would expect, through strong Cabinet decisions. I will openly admit the Chancellor and I are very close.
“We think together we have got a shared strategy and approach. This is a very good thing for the country, by the way.
“We’ve had plenty of examples of chancellors going in one direction, prime ministers going in another. It usually ends pretty sadly.”
Sir Keir also defended his decision to accept £100,000 in gifts and insisted Lord Alli, a major Labour donor, was not trying to buy influence with the handouts.
The Prime Minister admitted it was “fair” to ask questions about the gifts but insisted he had “human explanations” for accepting them.
‘In elections, we’re busy’
Asked about the thousands of pounds of clothes and glasses he received from Lord Alli, he told Sky News: “In the general election campaign, we’re busy.
“Lots of people want to help and in this particular instance, well, ‘I can help with sorting out some clothes’.
“In opposition that’s one thing. What I would say now is I won’t be doing donations for clothes again. There won’t be any declarations like that.”
Sir Keir was also asked whether “alarm bells” had rung that Lord Alli was seeking influence with donations to himself and Angela Rayner.
He told Channel 4: “I think your characterisation isn’t entirely accurate. People donate in different ways. The important thing is that it’s declared.
“There were plenty of people before the election who desperately wanted a Labour government and wanted to donate towards that end and that was their driving motivation.”
