Keir Starmer ‘not discussing individual members of staff’ including Sue Gray
Several newspapers have described tensions between Ms Gray and director of political strategy Morgan McSweeney
Sir Keir Starmer has declined to answer a question about his chief of staff’s pay, which leaked disclosures revealed is around £3,000 more than his.
Asked about members of his Government who are “deeply unhappy with” Sue Gray, and whether he would either rid Number 10 of “grumblers” or the former civil servant, the Prime Minister told the BBC: “I am not going to discuss individual members of staff, whoever they are.
“Any name of staff you could have put to me in this interview, and I’d have the same answer to you: I don’t believe that my staff should be the subject of public debate like this.”
Pressed on alleged tensions in Downing Street, including “people who are unhappy”, Sir Keir said: “I acknowledge that briefings to you are not helpful to the Government.
“My focus is on what we need to do as a Government to change the country for the better, and it’s my job to deal with briefings etc.
“And I take responsibility for that.
“But, you know, 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.”
The broadcaster reported Ms Gray was given a salary of £170,000, based on a leak, which put her earnings at around £3,000 more than Sir Keir’s.
The BBC reported an “insider” said at the time: “It speaks to the dysfunctional way No 10 is being run – no political judgment, an increasingly grand Sue who considers herself to be the deputy prime minister, hence the salary and no other voice for the Prime Minister to hear as everything gets run through Sue.”
Several newspapers have described tensions between Ms Gray and director of political strategy Morgan McSweeney, and The Guardian reported on Wednesday that one unnamed Cabinet minister said: “One or both of them will have to go. It’s not going to be Morgan.”
But Health Secretary Wes Streeting mocked the affair at Labour’s Liverpool conference on Sunday.
“Sue Gray is hiding Lord Lucan and shot JFK, and I can’t even tell you what she did to Shergar,” he said.
“I don’t know how we’re going to recover from this, frankly.”
