Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, UK, has insisted he is “completely in control”, after it emerged that his chief of staff, Sue Gray, received a pay rise. It means she is now on a higher salary than him.

Starmer’s declaration is coming on the heels of a BBC revelation of a row within the government over staff pay.

The story, briefed to the BBC by a number of sources, painted a picture of fractious relationships at the heart of government, less than three months after Labour’s general election victory.

The Prime Minister was challenged by BBC South East political editor, Charlotte Wright, on a spate of off-the-record briefings about Sue Gray.

The PM responded: “I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver.

“We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change. I am determined that we are going to do that.”

In interviews with other BBC regional political editors, Sir Keir defended his decision to accept corporate hospitality from Arsenal football club. He said he could no longer use his season ticket as prime minister.

The Premier League club has made two seats available to the prime minister in the corporate area of Emirates Stadium.

He said he had been advised it would cost the taxpayer more in security costs to use his normal seat.

He would “rather be in the stands”, but accepting a corporate ticket was a “perfectly sensible arrangement”, he added. BBC

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