of his government as he heads to his party conference on Sunday mired in controversy over the salary of his chief of staff and the acceptance of luxury gifts by himself and his wife. The PM gave a round of interviews on Thursday with regional broadcasters ahead of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool with questions over his decision to accept more than £100,000 in gifts, the role of about the cutting of winter fuel payments to pensioners. Concerns over the in government were raised again this week when it was revealed she is paid more as chief of staff than the prime minister.
On Wednesday, the BBC revealed it had been told that Ms Gray asked for and was given a salary of £170,000 after July’s election, about £3,000 more than Sir Keir. Already there had been surprise over her influence in making appointments to senior jobs and her presence on his trip to Washington DC last week to discuss the war in Ukraine and Middle East with Joe Biden. Pressed on Ms Gray’s pay by BBC South East’s political editor Charlotte Wright, the prime minister said he was “not going to get into discussions about individual salaries”.
But when he was asked about the anonymous briefings and whether he was in control of his team, he 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.” The prime minister was also questioned over Arsenal’s gift of a private box, worth more than £8,000 a ma.