Ministers rally round Sue Gray as Starmer says he is 'completely in control' of No 10 operation

Cabinet ministers have begun rallying round the Downing Street chief of staff, Sue Gray, saying the briefing against her is "appalling" and risks undermining the government.

- Pippa Crerar

In an attempt to put an end to a series of damaging rows, Keir Starmer denied he had lost grip of his team and insisted he was "completely in control" of his No 10 operation.

Several senior ministers leaped to Gray's defence after a series of briefings about her pay, and her apparently acrimonious relationships with senior colleagues. They told the Guardian the briefing against her "has to stop".

Other allies said the role was always the "lightning rod" for discontent within government but that Gray just wanted to concentrate on getting on with the job.

Their intervention follows the revelation by the BBC that Gray had been given a salary of £170,000-more than Starmer - prompting the ire of more junior Labour colleagues who had taken lower pay since entering government.

The prime minister is under scrutiny over his more than £100,000 of freebies and gifts over the last parliament. He faces further questions about whether his £35,000 of free tickets from football clubs risks a conflict of interest as his government prepares to bring in a regulator opposed by the industry.

In a series of local radio interviews yesterday, Starmer was asked whether he had lost his grip on his senior team as a result of the pay row, which follows weeks of briefings over power struggles within No 10.

"I'm completely in control. I'm focused and every day the message from me is the same, which is we have to deliver. We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change.I am determined we are going to do that," he told BBC South East.