Men in Gray suits: why the plots against Starmer's top adviser?

Increasingly damaging leaks about Sue Gray reflect 'bitter acrimony' over her role and power struggle in new government

Photo collage of Sue Gray looking pensive. In the background there's prize drawing tickets, banknotes, and a vintage illustration of a nest of vipers.
Sue Gray's allies say there is a 'nasty and vindictive campaign' against her
(Image credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images)

The revelation that Keir Starmer's chief of staff earns nearly £170,000 – about £3,000 more than the prime minister himself – has thrown a match on the fuel of recent recriminations concerning Sue Gray.

Amid a bitter dispute between No 10 and government advisers over pay, the BBC revealed yesterday that Gray earns more than any cabinet minister (£158,851) and more than her Conservative predecessor in Downing Street (£140,000-£145,000). More damagingly, the BBC claimed the controversial top adviser refused to accept a lower salary. "It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the prime minister to avoid this very story," the story's source told the BBC. "She declined."

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.